Jamshedpur, Dec. 18: After gaping manholes and naked wiring, it is now the turn of the lifts to serve as death traps for people in the city.

The death of 25-year-old Dipendu Dey ? when he tried to save teenaged Banmali Das who had fallen into the well of a malfunctioning lift at the Aditya Tower on Bistupur Main Road ? may just be an eye opener of the threats posed by such ill-maintained lifts.

Presuming that the lift was present, Das step into a deep abyss. Dey, in an effort to help the teenager, peeped down the hole and the lift came crashing down. Dey was killed on the spot while Das is in the Tata Main Hospital, where doctors revealed that his condition was critical.

Sources in the know of things revealed that the door of the lift was malfunctioning for the last three months but little was done to repair it.

The subdivisional officer of Dhalbhum, Devendra Bhushan Singh, taking note of yesterday?s incident said: ?It is the responsibility of the notified area committees to ensure that the lifts are safe. But they do not do it. We will ensure that corrective steps are taken.? However, authorities of the three civic bodies under East Singhbhum district blamed the owners of the buildings, promoters and the housing societies for not ensuring proper maintenance of the lifts. ?Our job is restricted to issue NoCs for the lifts. It is the job of builders or the housing societies to maintain the lifts properly,? said Ganesh Kumar, special officer of Mango Notified Area Committee.

A survey conducted by The Telegraph revealed that more than 50 per cent of the lifts installed in commercial and residential buildings lack maintenance.

As many as 500 lifts are operating in the various buildings in the city. But only 50 per cent of them are being maintained under an annual maintenance contract. The others are probably not being maintained by certified officials.

According to officials of lift manufacturing companies, as these elevators do not have an average life span, continuous maintenance is required to keep them in running condition. Imagine the irony when one lift in a commercial complex on Bistupur Main Road has a caution notice: ?Persons using this lift does so on their own risk, the management does not take any responsibility.?