ISLAMABAD:The district administration of Abbottabad on Tuesday banned Dhamtoor Dolly lift after yesterday’s accident over violation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and without having a fitness certificate from the concerned authority.
According to the details, Additional Assistant Commissioner Revenue Abbottabad Arshad Mahmood sealed the Dhamtoor dolly lift after the incident where the connecting rope of the lift broke and 8 children were stuck in the middle way at a height of about 400 feet on River Harno. Later, they were rescued by Rescue 1122 after passing many hours.
AC Revenue following the directives of DC Abbottabad Tariq Salam Marwat visited the Dhamtoor dolly lift and reviewed the route and declared the lift dangerous for transportation and sealed fur unlimited time, he also directed TMA Abbottabad about the SOPs and NOC for the lifts.
In order to protect precious human lives DC Abbottabad also directed officials to inspect all dolly lifts in the district to review the capacity, standard, and implementation of SOPs.
During the last five years, several accidents with dolly lifts have occurred in the Hazara division where more than a dozen people have lost their lives. After the accident in Lora circle where in May 2017 11 people died when a dolly lift fell into the ravine, the provincial government and district, Abbottabad administration banned homemade dolly lifts and started inspection of the lifts which continued for a few days.
As the days passed matter of the accident was buried under the files, and owners and contractors of the lifts again started the routine operation without any precautionary measures where even most lifts have no doors and commuters have to sit in the open lift.
Unfortunately, the lifts usually have to pass hundreds of feet deep ravines moreover the owners have no fitness certificates for the lifts and operators have no valid training or experience for their job.