Lift Upgrading

A couple of years ago during the General Elections of Singapore in our constituency of Aljunied GRC, there was no mention of any lift upgrading program for our area. I believe they were too busy fighting or rallying over other things.

Suddenly in 2007, we had these HDB officers going round to tell us that there will be polling for the LIFT UPGRADING PROGRAM or LUP, in Singapore's love for acronyms. HH and I received the circulars on the roadshow, but we don't get any say because we are both not Singaporeans.

Sometime after that polling event, they started the LUP as quickly as possible onf the other blocks. Then on 1 December 2007, the contractors blockaded the area designated for the lift in our block. They put up barricades, netting, cordoned off a large area for about 3 days then STOPPED WORK! Nothing was done again for another 11 months to the chagrin of our poor downstairs neighbours who had to put up with the inconveniences of their mindless blockade and NO WORK IN PROGRESS.

The contractors started work on all the other blocks. One day, I accosted some engineer who was inspecting our work site and asked him how long the upgrading program would take. He said something like another 2 years and I looked at him incredulously in horror. ANOTHER TWO YEARS OF THE BLOODY DIN AND MESS!!

Anyway, the contractors finally surprised me - they started work on our lift shaft and lift on 1 December 2008. YES! One year after the blockade, barricades, netting and mess they started work on the lift shaft and the lift. One day in mid-January 2009, I walked up the stairs and met a lift engineer perched on the top of the carriage. He said to me "Aunty - your lift come before Chinese New Year". I must have been tired because I don't take kindly to the AUNTY title, but since the lift was coming, I just smiled andsaid thank you very much and walked back to our apartment.

Amazingly, they worked and finished the whole thing and handed the lift to us residents on 23 January 2009.

So now we had better make full use of this piece of equipment since we are being charged $30,000 for it for being non-citizens!