Coaching centre flooding incident: Students continue protest in Delhi’s Karol Bagh

New Delhi [India], July 29 (ANI): The student protests in Delhi’s Karol Bagh continued on Monday morning after a flooded basement at a coaching centre in Old Rajinder Nagar claimed three lives.

Speaking to ANI, Sahil, aa UPSC aspirant and one of the protestors complained that no officials from the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) visited them.

“We have been sitting here for the last two days but none of the MCD officials came to meet us. We submitted our demands to the DCP, yesterday – seeking information about those who are deceased, those who are admitted to hospitals, copies of FIR, the action that is to be taken and compensation of Rs 1 crore to the family of the deceased and Rs 50 lakhs to those injured but none of it has been addressed,” Sahil said.

Three students died after the basement of the building housing Rau’s Study Circle in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar was flooded following rains.

The students complained that the biometric access was mandated to enter libraries which were located mostly in the basements.

“What happened on 27 July 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,” Manish Kumar, a student said while speaking to ANI on Monday.

Manish further said that alternatives of biometrics need to be ensured so that another such tragedy can be averted.

Another student, Punit Singh complained that there is no way to rescue occupants of the buildings housing the institutes incase of any emergencies.

“Entry and exits of most of the buildings here are controlled by biometrics. In case of an emergency or unforeseen incident, there is no balcony in the entire building, and there is no way to rescue any occupants of a building in case of a fire. We will not be able to escape and no one will be able to enter the building without a biometric,” Punit Singh said.

“Who will be held accountable for our life and safety?… Access to 70-75 per cent of libraries in the region is controlled by biometrics and the libraries are located in basements,” he added.

Earlier in the day, the owners of the institutes asked students using the basement libraries to vacate after the MCD initiated action against coaching centres violating building bye-laws.

The MCD sealed the basements of 13 coaching centres in Karol Bagh on Sunday for violating building bye-laws amid protests by students. Mayor Shelly Oberoi has directed strict action against coaching centres operating illegally in basements.

The Delhi Police arrested seven persons in connection with the incident, including the owner and coordinator of the coaching centre. The accused have been booked for culpable homicide, among other charges.

“Five more persons, including the owners of the basement and an individual who drove a vehicle which appears to have damaged the gate of the building, were arrested. There was no permission to carry out commercial activity in the basement,” DCP Central M Harshavardhan told ANI.

“We have sought information from MCD, and we will examine their role too. The investigation is going on from all angles,” the DCP said.

The police also appealed to the protesting students to maintain peace and not block the main roads, and they assured strict action in the case.

“Negligence has been established on the part of the arrested driver, who has been arrested by Delhi Police in the Old Rajender Nagar case. He was driving the vehicle very fast, due to which the gate of the coaching centre broke. Before he hit the building gate, a street vendor had tried to stop him,” the DCP said.