[Watch] Lawyers Go Breathless After Getting Trapped Inside Elevator In Puri Collectorate Building

Puri: Nine lawyers were trapped inside the elevator in collectorate building here after it developed a snag on Wednesday.

According to reports, the lawyers of Puri District Bar Association went to the district magistrate’s office demanding that the four doors of Jagannath temple be opened for Puri residents as was the practice before. They also demanded removal of barricades outside the temple, among others.

They were returning in the elevator after submitting the letter to the Collector when they got trapped inside. They were stuck inside the lift for more than 20 minutes. As there were many people inside the lift, some experienced breathlessness, said sources.

The technical engineer had the elevator key but he was not available. Fire-fighters were called but in the mean time some scribes and locals present at the post managed to rescue the trapped lawyers.

The lawyers alleged sub-standard work. “There were no instructions mentioned in the lift and was making noises,” said Sarada Prashant Samal, a lawyer.

Another lawyer Bibhuti Shankar Tripathi said some of them had experienced breathlessness as it was a fully closed elevator. Had there been a delay of few more minutes, we would have fallen unconscious or dead.”

Deputy District Magistrate Bhabataran Sahu said the lift was overloaded. But, steps would be taken to check such mishaps in the future.