Hyderabad: Despite a string of fatal lift accidents, Telangana is yet to enforce its Lifts Act – already in place in at least 10 states across India. The proposal, first drafted over 10 years ago in 2015 and later updated in Sept 2025, is still awaiting the state govt’s approval, sources claimed.Incidentally, the Telangana high court, in Feb this year, had pulled up the state govt over the delay in implementation of the act. It had asked the state to file a detailed report within four weeks on the status of the revised Telangana Lifts Act, 2025, and the stage it was pending at.The urgent need for a Lift Safety Act has come back into focus after Hyderabad reported two major lift-related deaths in the last two months: a five-year-old girl who died after getting trapped in a grill-style elevator at a women’s PG hostel in Gowlidoddi in Gachibowli and a 57-year-old partially visually impaired woman who stepped into an empty lift shaft after the landing door opened despite the lift car not arriving, in Khairatabad. Experts attributed both to the absence of uniform safety and accessibility standards that make children, elderly persons and people with disabilities particularly vulnerable to such accidents.Police investigating the Khairatabad incident said a lift technician had indicated a possible malfunction in the system. According to police, the woman believed the lift had arrived and attempted to enter it, only to plunge to her death.Experts say the enforcement of a Lift Act would arrest such accidents as it would mandate all residential complexes and public spaces to have automated door elevators, ruling out possibilities of getting trapped in swing elevator grills – a manual door that opens like a traditional room door.Referring to the Khairatabad case, VYLN Murthy, an elevator industry expert who had earlier served as an electrical engineer for the Indian Air Force, told TOI, “The fact that the grill opened despite the lift car not being on that particular floor itself indicates a malfunction. If the lift car is not on the floor, the landing gate should not open.” Murthy was also involved in drafting an earlier version of the proposed Lift Act. He said one of the key purposes of such legislation is to ensure lifts undergo approval, certification and safety inspections before being put into public use.Murthy noted that many states already require government approval for lift installations and mandate inspections before lifts are certified fit for use. “Without a regulatory framework, there is no dedicated inspection mechanism to verify whether lifts meet safety requirements,” he said.B Devadas, general secretary of the Telangana Elevators and Escalators Association, said a Lift Act would make periodic inspections and compliance reporting mandatory. “There should be a system where lifts are periodically checked and reports are submitted. Such inspections can help identify faults before accidents occur,” he said.Industry experts also pointed out how most residents lean towards cheaper options, often at the cost of personal safety. “Thousands of lifts are operating without structured monitoring. Customers often choose the lowest bidder, without caring about their personal safety. But safety standards, maintenance and audits are important,” he said.Design flawsExperts say vulnerable users often face greater risks when lifts lack modern safety and accessibility features.“Collapsible doors are not safe for the visually challenged. Voice announcements are the most important feature because they tell users which floor the lift has reached and whether the doors are closing. If in the Khairatabad case, an announcement was made, the woman would have known if the lift had arrived and we would not have lost a life,” said Dr Sai Baba Goud, founder-chairman of Devnar School for the Blind. While Braille buttons are useful, audio announcements are often more practical, particularly in crowded lifts, he added.Murthy also pointed to design-related risks involving children. He said older lift systems with swing doors and collapsible gates have historically been associated with accidents in which children became trapped between doors or entered unsafe spaces. In contrast, automatic doors are equipped with safety sensors that prevent doors from closing when a person is in the way.An inspector from the dept of electrical inspectorate told TOI that the draft is ready but needs to be taken up by the govt. “The bill has to be passed in the assembly. All the required formalities from our end have been completed. The bill is now supposed to be passed in the assembly,” the official said.How the Lift Act can helpUnder the proposed legislation, guidelines for registering and regulating the construction, fitting, upkeep and secure operation of lifts, including all associated machinery, would be put in place.The Act would ensure that owners install lifts in accordance with Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) norms and Central Electricity Authority (Measures relating to Safety and Electric Supply) regulations.It would also require property owners to obtain licences and pay prescribed fees before installing lifts. The regulatory framework is expected to function on lines similar to obtaining building permissions from GHMC and fire safety clearances from the fire department for high-rise buildings before construction.Experts say such a system would help ensure periodic inspections, compliance monitoring and timely identification of faults before accidents occur.Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat have already implemented Lift Acts to regulate lift installations and safety standards.In 2025, neighbouring Andhra Pradesh passed the Andhra Pradesh Lifts and Escalators Bill on March 12, 2025, providing a regulatory framework for the registration, installation, operation and maintenance of lifts and escalators.Fatal lift accidents from the past:Nov 20, 2025 – A five-year-old LKG student died after getting trapped in a lift in Yellareddyguda while returning home from school.July 19, 2025 – A 70-year-old security guard died after falling into a lift shaft in Basheerbagh.April 13, 2025 – A doctor attempting to retrieve a cricket ball from a lift pit was crushed after the lift suddenly descended in Qutbullapur.March 13, 2025 – A four-year-old boy died after getting stuck in a lift gate in Asif Nagar.March 12, 2025 – An additional superintendent of police died after falling into a lift shaft in Sircilla.Feb 22, 2025 – A six-year-old boy died after getting trapped between an elevator shaft and a wall in Masab Tank.July 2, 2024 – A 68-year-old man died after accidentally slipping into a lift pit in Tukaramgate.July 7, 2020 – A 38-year-old man, a native of West Bengal, died after falling into a lift shaft in SR Nagar.Nov 25, 2019 – A nine-year-old boy fell into a lift shaft and was crushed under the lift in Raidurgam.May 10, 2019 – A 67-year-old woman from Andhra Pradesh fell three floors into a lift pit and died in Rajendranagar.