A video showing a construction worker hauling a heavy load of bricks up 21 floors of a high-rise residential building has triggered widespread fury across social media. What made people so angry wasn’t just the sheer physical toll on the worker, but the fact that the building reportedly has four working lifts, and he wasn’t allowed to use a single one of them to move the materials.The clip was captured by a resident who happened to spot the labourer on the stairs and couldn’t stay quiet about it. Watching the man struggle up flight after flight with a heavy load balanced on his head, the resident started recording and voiced what plenty of viewers were immediately thinking: why force a human being through that kind of physical torture when the building literally has lifts sitting right there?According to the resident, the worker was given zero alternative and had to climb all 21 floors on foot while carrying the bricks.
Resident calls out building rules
In the video, the resident didn’t hold back, sarcastically pointing out the complete lack of empathy from the building’s management.“This building has 4 lifts. But he is not allowed to carry the bricks in the lift, so he is climbing 21 floors with bricks on his head. This is the condition here. Our country will surely grow through things like these,” the resident said while filming the worker slowly inching his way up the stairwell.The footage quickly went viral, raising uncomfortable questions about how manual labourers are routinely treated on job sites and whether basic human dignity gets tossed out the window the second heavy work needs to be done.
Internet reacts: “Totally inhuman brutality”
The clip hit X (formerly Twitter) after being shared by an account called ‘k_gauravs’. According to the post, the worker was carrying roughly 20 kg of bricks up the 21 flights of stairs, completely blocked from accessing any of the four elevators.The user called out the sheer lack of compassion, writing, “Humanity shouldn’t disappear just because someone is doing manual labour.”It didn’t take long for the comment section to explode with anger. Some users pointed out the cruel irony of the situation, noting that forcing workers to use stairs isn’t just abusive – it’s completely counterproductive and slows down the actual job.One commenter wrote, “What a useless waste of productivity. It will also delay the construction work since it takes a lot more time to bring these bricks through the stairs. It’s just ridiculous.”Another user argued that management should invest in proper material hoists instead of using people like pack mules: “This is because in India we don’t have this system which is meant for movers. Is it expensive? Yes! But it’s worth the life of human beings!”Other viewers were simply disgusted by the video. One person commented, “I am speechless with the level of inhumanity here,” while another labeled the entire scene as “totally inhuman brutality.”A third user put it plainly: “it is in human. So, disturbing.”
A reality check on working conditions
This whole mess has once again put a harsh spotlight on how construction workers are treated every single day. Sure, housing societies often worry about heavy construction materials scuffing up passenger lift mirrors or messing with elevator doors. But setting zero-tolerance rules without offering a service lift, a pulley system, or an external hoist leaves workers bearing the entire physical brunt of that policy.If someone is expected to do the backbreaking labor of building or renovating these apartments, the absolute least developers and society committees can do is provide them with basic, safe, and humane ways to get the job done.
