Delhi coaching institute had blocked off drains, ignored safeguards, says report

Reports on the tragic deaths of civil service aspirants due to basement flooding prompt investigations and accountability measures.

Two reports were submitted on Tuesday to Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar on the death of three civil service aspirants in the basement of Rau’s IAS circle in Old Rajender Nagar on June 29. The report by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) stated that the coaching centre had completely blocked off the drainage system in the area. An initial report on the magisterial inquiry said that the water level on the road and basement had been the same, due to which the water that was pumped out of the basement kept gushing back in.

“This coaching institute has completely blocked the drainage system and also has not taken additional safeguards to meet out such type of eventualities. The parking access to the institute is directly exposed to the road and in case of heavy rain, water instead of going into the stormwater drain, enters directly into this parking area. There was no vigil on the part of security staff as a result water uninterruptedly crossed the parking area and entered into the basement and ultimately taking the precious life of three bright children,” the MCD report read.

The report also noted the basement was being used for purposes other than storage; it had contained many stations/cubicles, in violation of basement usage norms of the Master Plan of Delhi-2021. It also pointed out that the gate to the basement had a biometric lock, another reason why the students could not get out of the building immediately.

“The exact cause of excess water cannot be ascertained by the Building Department, Karol Bagh Zone as several factors may have led to such huge flow of water in the basement,” said an MCD official.

However, an assistant engineer responsible for the maintenance of drains in the area was suspended with immediate effect after the incident; so was a junior engineer. Besides, an executive engineer was sent a show-cause notice seeking an explanation on the incident.

The magisterial inquiry was initiated to ascertain the cause of the basement flooding, assign responsibility and suggest measure to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The District Magistrate, having asked for more time to complete the investigation and establish the events that led to the deaths, has been directed to complete the inquiry in the next seven days.

Responding to these findings, Revenue Minister Atishi said that it was unfortunate that the bureaucracy was acting with “laxity” and not submitting a magisterial inquiry report on the death of three UPSC aspirants. She said that it raised doubts on whether they were protecting the culprits.