'Classist' Gurugram society fines domestic help, delivery staff for using resident's lift; notice viral
Social media is divided over a residential society that issued ₹100 fines to workers for violating rules like not using service lift and drying clothes outside.
It may sometimes seem like social justice warriors (SJWs) are always out to get outraged over the next big (or small) row, from classism and equality to feminism and safety. But an incident in a housing society in Gurugram has left social media divided over whether these reasons really are valid enough to be outraged.
Gurugram society lift row: What happened?
A housing society in Haryana's Gurugram imposed fines of ₹100 on domestic workers for using the main residents' lift instead of the service lift.
Before that, a notice was put up in the building, reading in Hindi and English, “All domestic helps and delivery staff, please use service lift only.”
The notice came to light after Reddit user u/Vito_7_Corleone posted pictures of the notice and receipts of the issued fines on the Gurgaon subreddit, writing “Is this common in Gurgaon Societies ?” The post has now been deleted, but social media users are still debating the issue.
The photos showed receipts issued to two domestic workers in the society, namely Kajal and Majnu, both listed as “maid” and fined ₹100 for their “violation of the rule”. Their violation? Using the resident's only lift instead of the service lift.
Alongside these, OP (original poster on Reddit) also shared a notice that was circulated among residents with a bunch of rules that need to be followed. These include “domestic staff not adhering to rules”, “drying laundry in the balcony”, “pets being taken through main elevator/ garden/ golf cart”, “gambling and playing cards in driver room”, “throwing waste or rubbish over balcony”, and “overnight parking in visitors' parking”, to name a few.
Social media divided
The incident created a rift on Reddit, with some social media users calling it “wrong on so many levels”, while others called it “it is common and necessary”.
‘The Great Indian Social Divide’
A user expressed their dissent, writing, “Classism at its peak. We are moving from castism to classism rapidly in urban societies. clown emoji (sic)”. Andother wrote, “We are the most racist country in the whole f***ing wide world.” “wtf is segregation se kaise bhi kamane laga...indian society surprises me everyday,” commented one.
Another user informed that it is “Very common in most posh societies in Gurgaon. Gurgaon in general is a bit more classist and money oriented society.” Not only Gurugram, a user shared that societies in Noida, too, implement such rules: “Seen this is Noida society too! This is modern classist behavior! The initial class system was caste based and now it's based on economic status!”
One remarked sarcastically, “The Great Indian Social divide continues.....why not educate all on the same kind of civic sense”.
As is won't to happen, one user pointed out how things can always get worse: “Atleast you got service lifts. I have seen few buildings with no separate service lifts and maids and delivery persons aren't allowed to use the normal ones.”
‘Virtue signalling at its best’
Another section of social media users dubbed the outrage “virtue signalling”, saying that the rules were made for practical reasons.
“All rules are made because someone misuses the amenities and it becomes difficult for building management to handle them as everyone in gurgaon is unreasonable and ready to fight,” opined a commenter.
Others also shared incidents that led to the creation of such rules in their societies.
“Nothing against the maids and drivers but our society lifts were always full of gutka stains and tobacco in corners. Finally we put cctv camera in the lift and realised it was the drivers and maids,” shared one. Another said, “It is and should be. The society I live in the zepto zomato guys used to pee inside the lift. We have caught couple of the red handed sorry cock handed.”
One user went as far as to call the poster and commenters “a bunch of overly sensitive people here just waiting for any opportunity to view certain things in a negative light”: “Not everything is discrimination/classism. There are multiple apartments per floor. Each apartment has at least 1-2 staff members, some even more. Why should everyone use the main lifts when there are separate lifts made for this very purpose? Should the service lifts just remain empty? Do you know how long one would have to wait if everyone starts using the main lifts, especially during rush hour? Let Zomato, Swiggy, Amazon, Blinkit etc everyone use the main lifts then why “discriminate” against them either? Most of you are acting as if using the service lift is some sort of a punishment.”
What's your take on the matter? Should the imposition of fines be the norm in such circumstances?
