The community hall at EE Block recently had an elevator installed inside. Perhaps the first in any community hall of Salt Lake, the lift will now serve three floors.
“When we celebrated the 25th year of our block’s Durga puja in 2023, we inaugurated a shed on our second-floor terrace. It is a temporary structure but a highly decorated one with false ceilings, chandeliers, and glazed tiles. This Rajat Jayanti Kaksha became highly coveted but elderly residents and those with knee pain struggled to climb the stairs and reach it,” said secretary of the EE Block association, Moktar Ali Khan.
That’s when the association felt the need for an elevator. “It cost us about Rs 10.5 lakh, which has been partly funded by our MLA Sujit Bose. We took subscriptions of Rs 1,000 from residents, although many happily donated more. The balance money has been raised through a loan,” Khan explained.
Bose came for the inauguration and commended the effort. “It’s thoughtful of the block committee to have installed this lift for its people,” he said. “I am always here to lend a hand when you need.”
EE Block’s community hall came up in 2011 and is rented out for weddings and other ceremonies, and also hosts social and cultural events. Two doctors — allopathic practitioner Sutirtha Bhattacharya and homeopathy practitioner Bikash Banerjee — are available for consultation at nominal fees. “Our block comprises mostly senior citizens and many suffer from osteoarthritis. I advise those with knee pain to avoid using the stairs so this lift is a boon for them,” said Banerjee.
The lift can carry a maximum of five people with a cumulative weight of 340kg. Since the inauguration, the community hall has already hosted Rabindrajayanti and Mothers’ Day events, on the top floor. Another health awareness camp is scheduled for tomorrow. “The lift will make this venue even more popular as a marriage hall now,” said Pragati Kumar Laha, a block committee member.
The hall already has CCTV surveillance in and around it and next on the anvil is cooling. “At present only our first floor is air-conditioned but we want to extend this to the top floor too. We are getting four two-tonne ACs for it,” added Laha.
