The Tamil Nadu Public Works Department (PWD) has suspended two engineers responsible for the maintenance of lifts at the Stanley Medical College Hospital in Chennai. The action takes place against the background of a breakdown of the elevator in the hospital.
According to a PWD release on Thursday, Health Minister Subramanian Ma along with Secretary P Senthil Kumar, North Chennai MP Kalanidhi Veeraswamy, Royapuram MP Idream Murthy visited the hospital on November 29 to inaugurate a hand surgery course and some other events.
While Minister Subramanian, MP Veerasamy, other officials and media personnel were in the lift, it stopped working. Almost 10 minutes later, PWD members helped them jump off the lift from the second floor.
In a release, the department noted that the elevator jammed due to negligence on the part of the elevator engineers. It added that when Minister Subramanian inquired about this from others, he was informed that the lift often stops working.
“Engineer D Sasichandran and Assistant Engineer V Kalaivani have been suspended,” the release said.
The Chief Engineer, PWD, has issued a detailed circular to all electrical engineers to be vigilant and avoid such incidents in future. The circular also asked engineers to work with the concerned medical colleges to ensure proper functioning of lifts and other electrical devices.