How Delhi coaching tragedy could have been averted
The death of three UPSC aspirants due to flooding in the basement of Rau's IAS Study Circle in Delhi's Old Rajendra Nagar has sparked safety concerns at coaching centers. According to Manish Kumar, a student at the center, the accident could have been avoided if the biometric access system had not malfunctioned, ANI reported.
'Biometric blocked...': What the student said
Kumar told ANI that a malfunction in the biometric system trapped students inside the basement during the flooding. "What happened on July 27 was that the biometric got blocked, because of which students got trapped inside when the basement was being flooded with water. This tragedy could have been averted," he addeds
Investigation reveals safety violations at coaching center
Separately, the investigation into the incident has revealed several lapses. The basement, intended for parking and storage, was improperly used as a library, the probe found. The coaching center operated without the required fire clearance, according to a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) statement. Following the incident, a petition has been filed in the Delhi High Court seeking directives for the MCD to enforce measures preventing future occurrences, including addressing waterlogging issues and improving overall safety conditions.
Basement owner, 4 others arrested
The owner of the Delhi basement where three civil services aspirants died after flooding has been arrested along with four others, police reported. Both the owner and coordinator of Rau's coaching have already been arrested and charged with culpable homicide and other offenses. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central) M Harsha Vardhan stated that each building floor is owned by a different person.
MCD seals 13 coaching centers
The MCD has sealed at least 13 "illegal" coaching centers in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar in response to the incident. The action by the civic body, which continued till late Sunday night. The coaching centres that were sealed included IAS Gurukul, Chahal Academy, Plutus Academy, Sai Trading, IAS Setu, Topper's Academy, Dainik Samvad, Civils Daily IAS, Career Power, 99 Notes, Vidya Guru, Guidance IAS, and Easy for IAS.
