MCD seals basements of 13 civil service institutes in Delhi after Old Rajendra Nagar accident

New Delhi (India), July 29 (ANI): Following the death of three UPSC aspirants in flooded basement of Rau IAS coaching institute in Old Rajendra Nagar area of ​​Delhi, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has taken a major step and sealed basements of 13 civil services institutes.

The corporation’s action against property owners violating building regulations comes in response to a shocking incident that took place on Saturday evening and sparked massive protests by students in Old Rajendra Nagar.

Tariq Thomas, additional commissioner, MCD, said, “We have started the drive since evening. Three basements (coaching centres operating in basements) have been sealed and we will take further action in the coming days. The government has ordered an inquiry.” Aishe Ghosh, former president of JNU, told ANI, “We reached Old Rajendra Nagar soon after receiving information about the incident. One of the students who died is a PhD student of JNU. It is a very shocking incident. Students come from far-off places to study here and there is no accommodation for them. It is sad.” The students continued their protest in the early hours of Monday morning too, demanding justice and appropriate action from the government.

Students from various training centers presented five main demands.

The protesting students demanded that decisive action be taken against all government officials responsible for the disaster, as well as steps to stop further flooding and downing of power lines in the area.

They also demanded strict penalties for educational and training centres and landowners running such libraries and classes in basements, a rent regulation act or some rent regulation code to check unreasonable rent and brokerage, insurance of every educational and training centre and such libraries against any mishaps and a grievance mechanism for students of educational and training centres in case of any irregularities.

According to an official MCD release, a detailed investigation is being conducted by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to ascertain the reason behind the basement flooding at the IAS training institute where Rau was studying.

According to MCD, the basement could have been used as a parking lot and storage space, but not as a library or reading room. In addition, the training center where the incident occurred was operating in violation of fire safety requirements.

In connection with this tragic incident, a penal petition was filed in the Delhi High Court.

The motion seeks a directive to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to immediately implement measures to prevent such incidents in future. The court’s intervention is aimed at resolving and mitigating the flood-related issues and improving safety conditions. (ANI)