Delhi Coaching Centre Tragedy | Public Memory is Short. Nothing Will Ever Change

Why do money-minting institutes like this one function out of basements with almost no safety measures?

Vacuum trucks parked near a UPSC exam coaching centre to pump out water from the flooded basement of the coaching centre, in New Delhi, Sunday, July 28, 2024.

(Photo: PTI)

Three civil services aspirants – Shreya Yadav, Nevin Dalvin, and Tanya Soni – died on the evening of 27 July after Rau's IAS Study Circle in Old Rajendra Nagar, Delhi, functioning in a basement situated eight feet below ground, suffered a sudden, catastrophic flooding.

As per eyewitnesses and the FIR lodged, Old Rajendra Nagar had been inundated in the wake of heavy rains; after a nearby drain burst, water flowed rapidly into the basement almost to the basement’s roof height.

Out of over 30 students present, some managed to escape; 12 to 14 were rescued and taken to the hospital – but three remained trapped and died.

According to a faculty member, a call was made to 112 as the flooding began – but the responders were delayed by traffic jams en route. The three bodies were finally recovered by the NDRF (National Disaster Response Force). The Delhi Fire Department acknowledged receiving a call for help at around 7 pm.

The subsequent actions seem to have become a norm in India. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi ordered a citywide crackdown on “coaching centres violating building by-laws,” after which thirteen other coaching centres were sealed by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).

The Delhi Police arrested Abhishek Gupta and DP Singh, the CEO and coordinator of the institute respectively, and have charged them with culpable homicide. The MCD has been asked to join the probe into the death of the three students, for which they have set up a “high-level committee.” The media went on a rampage, peddling tragedy-related trivia. 

The first question is about raw avarice. As per the institute’s website, the General Studies (Prelims and Mains) integrated foundation course costs Rs 1,75,500 (offline) and Rs 95,500 (live-online). The optional subjects’ six-month long course costs Rs 55,500 (offline) and Rs 45,500 (live-online). The Civil Services Aptitude Test coaching course of three months costs Rs 18,500 (offline) and Rs 12,500 (live-online).

And yet, institutes like this function out of basements with almost no facilities or safety measures – and with no concern for the well-being or lives of the students who pay them such heavy fees.

The second question – could these deaths have been avoided?

Although the precise details of this tragic event are still unclear, it seems the flooding commenced at about 6.35 pm (July 27), and the Police and Fire Department received calls around 7.00 pm-7.10 pm. Several students trapped in the waterlogged basement were rescued after an hours-long operation.

Although it is claimed that the basement flooded within 10 minutes, what exactly transpired between 6.35 pm and 7.10 pm? Did the coaching faculty order a quick evacuation as the water rose in the basement and ensure that every student was accounted for? Or, did everyone just rush out to save their own lives? 

The third question – and most important one – is about the utter failure of regulation and absolute lack of accountability by the government. The Rau's IAS Study Circle centre at Old Rajendra Nagar procured a No-Objection Certificate from the MCD in August 2021 for using that basement for parking and household storage.

Earlier this month, it acquired an NOC from the Fire Department, which stated that the building complied with fire safety requirements, adding that the basement should be used strictly as per building by-laws. Instead, an institute for training civil services aspirants was being run there.

The building by-laws mandate that there should exist adequate arrangements to thwart the entry of surface drainage into the basement – but the basement, which also had a library inside, had no drainage facilities. The by-laws add that if a basement is used for an office or for any commercial purposes, there should be a sufficient number of exits and access points. Yet, this institute had just one entry/exit.

Worse, on 26 June, Kishor Singh Kushwah, a student of that institute, complained to the MCD about the coaching centre’s illegal use of the basement, with reminders being sent on 15 July and 22 July – but no cognisance was taken.  

The reality is that a common thread runs through tragedies like the May 2019 Surat coaching centre fire tragedy (22 students died), the October 2020 Morbi bridge collapse (141 killed), the May 2024 Rajkot gaming arcade fire (27 killed), the July 2024 stampede at Hathras (121 killed), and now the IAS study circle tragedy – ie, the cosy nexus between people running the businesses and those responsible for granting permissions and regulating them.

Although there are a plethora of rules/regulations, no authority seems to know that a particular business is operating illegally right under its nose, at times for months and years. Drawings are approved, NOCs obtained, inspections and “physical” audits done (albeit on paper), and compliance and periodic reports are rendered in Digital India – even as the business goes about its affairs in total violation of rules/laws.

After tragedy strikes, the owners of those businesses are arrested, the media is fed with updates for a few days to deflect attention from the regulators, and after a while, since public memory is short, those arrested are quietly allowed respite, and usually go on to set up another venture.

The numerous train disasters, failing bridges and airport roofs, failure of flyovers, or catering roads are all part of that dynamic – play out the trivia and deflect attention from those who should be held accountable.

The loathsome part is that these cosy “arrangements” have been put in place by the very people who are legally mandated to uphold laws and deliver good governance. And unless the regulators at multiple levels are held accountable and punished severely, nothing is going to change.  

(Kuldip Singh is a retired Brigadier from the Indian Army. This is an opinion piece and the views expressed above are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)