Students continued their protest in Delhi’s Old Rajender Nagar area on Tuesday morning against the deaths of three UPSC students after the basement of their coaching centre was heavily flooded with rainwater.
The incident occurred at Rau’s Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday evening after heavy rains.
Speaking to ANI, Robin, a UPSC aspirant and one of the protestors, demanded that compensation be provided to the family of the deceased and the exact death toll be disclosed.
“Our first demand is that Rs 5 crore compensation be given to the family of the deceased each. (Secondly) disclose the total death toll, because a few of our friends that are eyewitnesses are saying that the death toll is more than three,” Robin Singh, a protesting student, told ANI.
Another student, Bhoomi, demanded that attention be paid to the safety measures in these libraries.
“Till when will all of this continue? Most libraries are running in the basements. We want that attention should be paid to the safety measures in these libraries. We want to see the involvement of MCD, Delhi Jal Board and other higher authorities. We want action should be taken on the FIR that is registered. We want some compensation for the family… Our demands are very basic. We don’t have any personal demands related to room rent which are being highlighted,” says Bhoomi, a student protesting in Old Rajinder Nagar.
Meanwhile, a local who was also protesting with the student pointed out the danger of exposed 440-volt wires, saying there are exposed 440-volt wires here and multiple wires are strangled and can cause a huge mishap at times.
“The reason for waterlogging in this area is that this is a low-ground area… The sewers here are blocked… The sewer lines are choked because they don’t have enough diameter to accommodate so much water. Coaching is not allowed in the basement as per the fire NOC and the MCD norms… Buildings are higher than 4 floors. How are they getting fire NOC if the height of the building is more than 15 metres? … There are exposed 440-volt wires here. Multiple wires are strangled and can cause a huge mishap anytime,” says a local protesting in Old Rajinder Nagar along with students.
Speaking to ANI, Hridesh Chauhan, an eyewitness, said on Monday that when heavy rain started, the guard asked everyone to leave immediately due to flooding. Some students who were sitting towards the other end of the library faced difficulty in leaving. Around 30-35 students were in the library at that time.
“15 minutes before the incident, we were on the ground floor, when the rain started. We decided to take a break since the weather was nice. But it started raining very heavily so we decided to get back to studying since the library of the coaching institute closes at 7 pm… Around 6:30, the guard of the building came rushing downstairs shouting and asking everyone to pack up and leave immediately since the water was gushing in. I responded swiftly since I was sitting near the steps of the stairs… Some students who were sitting towards the other end of the library faced difficulty in leaving. There were 30-35 students in the library at that time,” Chauhan told ANI.
Earlier, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena on Monday reached Old Rajinder Nagar and met the protesting students of the coaching centre following the deaths of three aspirants after the basement of the institute got flooded after heavy rains.
The MCD initiated disciplinary proceedings against the executive engineer and assistant engineer of Karol Bagh Zone following the incident.
So far, Delhi police have arrested seven people, including the driver of an SUV, in connection with the incident.
The victims who died in the incident have been identified as Shreya Yadav, a native of Ambedkar Nagar district of Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana; and Nivin Dalwin, a resident of Kerala’s Ernakulam, told DCP Central M Harshavardhan told ANI.
Delhi police have arrested seven people so far, including a driver of an SUV, in connection with the incident.
DCP (Central) M Harshvardhan said, “Five more persons, including owners of the basement space where the coaching centre was being run, have been taken into custody. This also includes a man who drove an SUV and damaged the gate of the building, leading to rainwater gushing into the basement and causing flooding.”
“There was no permission to carry out commercial activity in the basement,” the DCP added.
The owner and coordinator of the coaching centre were also arrested in the case. The accused have been booked for culpable homicide, among other charges.
The MCD sealed the basements of 13 coaching centres in Karol Bagh on Sunday for violating building bye-laws amid protests by students. Earth movers were used to remove encroachment over drains in Old Rajinder Nagar following student protests.
A day after the harrowing incident, the protesting students also organized a candle vigil near Rau’s Coaching Circle road on Sunday.
Speaking to ANI, Aman Kumar Yadav, a protesting student, said, “We all who are protesting today here want the authorities to reveal the actual casualties that took place in the incident. The family of the deceased must get immediate compensation.”He also said that the authority is trying to conceal the real number of casualties in the case.
“Students who are protesting want accountability and strict punishment for all coaching institutes and land owners who have libraries or residential complexes in their basements,” Aman said.
“Such incidents create a huge distress among the students, who are already working hard to crack their exams,” added Aman Yadav.
Notably, the Old Rajender Nagar incident comes days after a UPSC aspirant was electrocuted on a waterlogged Delhi street in Patel Nagar.