You might have seen several malls, hospitals, and even hotels have separate lifts for guests and staff members. Taking notes from them, several housing societies have also started instructing the house helps, newspaper guys, laundrymen, and other vendors to use a separate lift.
While some of them sure have valid reasons for this classification, the lack of proper reasoning can often come across as classist and a clear case of bigotry.
Recently, a man came across a note pasted above the lifts in one of the posh societies of Pune. The note instructed housemaids to use lifts marked ‘C’ or ‘D’, while labourers, painters, milkmen, courier guys, pets et cetera were told to use lift marked ‘D’ only.
The man named Sandeep Manudhane thought it was unfair and slammed the practice.
Segregating humans comes naturally to Indians.
From one of the biggest, most posh societies of Pune
–> pic.twitter.com/O5QlfV66Up— Sandeep Manudhane (@sandeep_PT) May 5, 2022
As soon as his tweet went viral, people shared their two cents on the matter. Some thought it was a deliberate act to keep the workers separate from the people living in the society.
1. This is a residential complex, not a corporate one.
2. The language is problematic. It should be – “All service functions may be done via lifts X and Y. Otherwise all lifts are open to all”.
Identifying professions and segregating them is plain wrong.
— Sandeep Manudhane (@sandeep_PT) May 5, 2022
Not at all. The intentions are very clear but u seem to deliberately misinterpret it.
— Beast Incarnate (@Lonebeast41) May 5, 2022
You are so wrong 😑 service elevators are huge, gigantic and help transport carts and supplies…not coz they get “dirty” due to some people using them. Jeez!
— ritz1919 (@ritz19191) May 5, 2022
I don’t know how we can aspire to be a democracy if we continue to cling instinctively to inequalities and hierarchies of status, power, “purity”(whatever that is)…
— ⏳ Gautam Sen (@GautamSen51) May 5, 2022
However, others vouched there were legit utilitarian reasons for doing so.
Top hotels and hospitals have service lifts; that’s not segregation, even this isn’t.
Waiting on the 16th floor for a lift that’s stopping at every floor isn’t a good idea.
Pointing at non issues like this where there’s enough for all helps perpetuate real brutal discrimination.— Samir/ समीर/ سمیر/ਸਮੀਰ/સમીર (@samirsrivastava) May 5, 2022
What’s wrong in this? Paperwala stops at every floor to drop paper. You’ll wait one hour for him to finish his job and get late to Office for the sake of humanity? Or may be humanism?
— u s kakodker (@uskakodker1) May 5, 2022
There are reasons for it:
1. This probably would be high-rise. The residents need dedicated lifts else it takes at times 15 minutes for someone (on the top floor) to come down
2. Pets- kids and senior citizens get scared. Sometimes young people have phobia and this is genuine.— gargi bhave (@gargishubhlaxmi) May 5, 2022
I would ask the intent before blasting this. In US there are service elevators. That it so because they can get dirty. I can see how milkman, pets can potentially get elevators dirty. Could that be the reason?
If it is because they are considered lesser.. Then it’s wrong!— Amit S. Deshpande (@meetASDeshpande) May 5, 2022
I find nothing wrong.
its more to prioritize availability of lifts for residents and as well lift D needs more cleaning as goods and “pets” going thru that. like service lift in commercial buildings.Note Pets owners are rich guys of society as well.
— Non Fungible Tweets (@iCapGurus) May 5, 2022
While the internet is divided, what do you have to say about it?