Coaching centres in deep waters, literally

Subhasish Mitra (Wide Angle)

The tragedy that recently befell a fairly well known UPSC coaching centre in the heart of the national capital sends a strong message. The death of three bright civil services aspirants – Shreya Yadav, Nevin Dalwin and Tanya Soni -- was the result of a serious municipal lapse. 

 

With Parliament in session, the issue has taken a political hue on expected lines, with the opposition BJP blaming the AAP city government for the unregulated growth of coaching centres in Delhi flouting building bye-laws, turning basement into library, and poor drainage system leading to flooding of roads and inundation of basements after the slightest rains.

 

Students often travel from distant places to bigger cities to groom themselves for important competitive examinations, be it for engineering, medical or management courses or for preparations to crack the tough UPSC exams. But after reaching the national capital, they find themselves lost in the crowd – studying in cramped classrooms where there are hardly any fire safety measures, staying in dingy lodges and consuming unhygienic food, only to grab success in a job-starved country.

 

The coaching centre tragedy was waiting to happen. The basement was meant for parking but was converted into a library, it had neither a drainage facility, nor any proper entry or exit points. The sudden gush of water after a heavy localised downpour was enough to turn the space into a watery grave.

 

In Delhi’s complex governance machinery there are multiple power centres, encouraging instant blame games. This time too, it wasn’t an exception. With the offices of the BJP-appointed Lieutenant Governor and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) mostly at daggers drawn, both sides looked for a scapegoat to wriggle out of the spate of allegations, accusations and charges inflicted on each other.

 

People are wondering whether Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will fix accountability from jail or whether the traumatised parents and their supporters will have to knock the doors of Raj Niwas. The LG has already formed a panel to frame rules regarding regulation of coaching centres in the city and redress issues faced by students.

 

Coaching institutes are multi-crore business not only in Delhi but elsewhere in the country as well. One cannot forget the fire in a Surat coaching centre in 2019 that left more than 20 students dead as the sole exit – a rickety wooden staircase from the rooftop class -- was up in flames. Taking a cue from the fire incident, the Delhi government instructed coaching centres in the capital to carry out fire audits of the buildings from where they were functioning. 

 

But the slipshod manner in which the exercise must have been carried out was exposed when a fire broke out in a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar area in north Delhi last year, following which the Delhi Police had informed the Delhi High Court that just 67 of close to 600 coaching institutes in the city had relevant NOCs from the authorities. 

 

Every time such a tragedy strikes, it follows the same drill -- FIRs, arrests, and inquiry panels. But everything fades into limbo. As of now, one thing is certain  -- no one has any idea as to how the next accident will be averted.