Changes in Sri Lanka Underway Following Incidents

Sri Lankan Parliamentarian Ravi Karunanayake said in February he planned to introduce a law requiring all the country’s elevators to be registered and regulated, the Daily Mirror reported. The move came on the heels of a 24-year-old man dying in an elevator accident in Colombo in late December 2018 and, later, members of Parliament becoming stuck in an elevator. Karunanayake said there are approximately 25,800 elevators operating in Sri Lanka, but none have been registered. Should other incidents occur, someone should be held responsible, he said, calling for annual registration and certificates to be displayed for all units.

The Sri Lankan government is replacing 10 elevators at the Parliamentary complex in Colombo at a cost of LKR100 million (US$557,000), News 1st reported in February. According to an earlier report in the Daily Mirror, the MPs were trapped for about 15 min. on February 7 before staff members were able to rescue them. A report on the incident noted that the car had exceeded its weight limit, but a malfunctioning switch in the 36-year-old elevator allowed it to move partially before it stopped.

The deputy speaker said new elevators using modern technology can be fixed in place of the old ones as soon as possible, and informed lawmakers that he has instructed the Parliament general secretary to proceed with the work.