The August 5 order of the apex consumer court, directing the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to pay compensation to the parents of young Jyotsna, who died while coming down the escalator at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi, should come as a note of warning to all those who instal and maintain escalators in the country.

Today, besides airports and railway stations, escalators are in use in large shopping complexes and multiplexes. And with the concept of large shopping malls catching on, their number is expected to go up sharply in the next couple of years. So the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission’s order could not have come at a more appropriate time.

In fact those that put up notices in front of the escalator saying that they are not liable for any escalator-related accident or injury should realise that such boards do not give them any protection. The precaution includes keeping personnel who will switch off the escalator immediately, in case of a problem or an accident. In fact, the apex consumer court has commented that the absence of such an arrangement itself constitutes deficiency in service.

On the night of December 1999, seven-year old Jyotsna and her relatives arrived on a flight from Dubai. They got on to the escalator and as they reached the base, Jyotsna and her uncle Rajesh got sucked into a gaping hole between the comb plate and the foot plate. While Rajesh managed to pull out, Jyotsna was trapped between the moving plates and crushed to death. The civil aviation ministry ordered an enquiry, which pointed to several lacunae in the maintenance of the escalator, leading to the accident.

In fact the Committee’s report uncovers the shocking disregard to safety exhibited by the AAI. “The escalator had been in position for about 14 years and although the traffic during this period had increased by about 85 per cent and its intensity of use during peak hours had also increased, it was not equipped with several safety features that were provided for the later models of the equipment,” the report said.

So the escalators should have skirt obstruction devices which sense the presence of a foreign object and automatically shut off the machine. Similarly, each step should have painted footprints or brightly coloured borders and there should be adequate lighting at the places where one gets on and off the escalator. The last two precautions are particularly important for elderly users.