7 of 11 lifts shut at Mumbai's KEM Hospital a year after complaint

The lift problem at KEM Hospital in Mumbai is in the spotlight again. The hospital's multistorey building has 11 lifts in all, of which seven are out of order. Patients, their relatives and doctors are facing considerable difficulty as a result.

Social activist Anil Galgali had lodged a written complaint with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation administration on November 27, 2025. He had demanded that all seven non-functional lifts be repaired immediately, that a deadline be set for the repairs, and that alternative lifts be arranged in the meantime. Despite this, the problem persists.

The lift in the hospital's orthopaedic building has been shut for the past week. Patients with fractures, persons with disabilities, accident victims and those undergoing post-operative treatment have to climb the stairs to reach the upper floors. Some patients are being carried up the stairs on wheelchairs and stretchers, raising questions about their safety.

A patient with a plaster cast on a leg is seen going down the stairs while seated on the steps. A video of this went viral on social media, after which the hospital has been widely criticised. Patients who come for treatment of broken bones and injuries to the arms and legs are badly affected by the shut lifts.

It is alleged that, even with the lifts shut, the hospital administration and the engineering department concerned have taken no concrete step to repair them. Demands are being raised that the lifts be made operational soon and that the officials responsible for the delay be investigated. Ameya Ghole, Shiv Sena group leader in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, has strongly criticised the civic administration over the issue.

RTI activist Anil Galgali has also raised several questions. One of them is what conditions patients must face in the corporation's other hospitals if the lifts are in such a state at a large and well-known hospital like KEM. The absence of concrete measures despite repeated complaints has raised questions over the administration's efficiency in providing hospital facilities. The complaint was made a year ago and yet nothing has changed, which has angered people.