Hundreds of students protested outside the Drishti IAS coaching centre in North West Delhis Mukherjee Nagar after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basement of the well-known institute. This action comes in the wake of a tragic incident on Saturday where three civil services aspirants lost their lives.Drishti IAS, led by educator and YouTuber Vikas Divyakirti, was among seven coaching institutes targeted in the MCDs recent crackdown on illegal operations. The action also affected six other coaching centres in Central Delhis Old Rajinder Nagar. Since the incident on July 27, MCD has sealed the basements of 20 coaching centres in both Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar, which were being illegally used as libraries or classrooms.The fatalities included Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nevin Dalwin from Kerala, who perished after the basement of Raus IAS Study Circle was flooded due to heavy rains.Protest infront of Drishti IAS Delhi.#Upsc #Orn #RaoIAS #rajendernagar #RajendraNagar #UPSCaspirants#aspirantslifematters #OldRajinderNagar#RajendraNagar#upsccoaching pic.twitter.com/xYIRISAwtN— All PYQ Dot Com (@allpyq) July 29, 2024Student protest for justiceOn Monday evening, social media was abuzz with videos of students chanting “we want justice” during a protest march to Drishti IAS in Mukherjee Nagar. The MCD simultaneously conducted an anti-encroachment drive in Old Rajinder Nagar, targeting structures that covered storm drains and contributed to the flooding.MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar stated that the sealing drive would extend to other parts of the city, targeting establishments that use basements for illegal commercial activities. He reported that actions had been taken against 20 basements of coaching centres in Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar.By Sunday, we had acted against 13 basements in Rajendra Nagar. On Monday, we resumed the drive, sealing six more, Kumar said. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi added, We have also carried out anti-encroachment operations to remove structures covering storm drains. In Mukherjee Nagar, we sealed another coaching institutes basement.Notable institutes under scrutinyProminent coaching centres that faced MCDs sealing action include Drishti IAS Institute, Vaji Ram and Ravi IAS hub, and SriRam IAS Institute in Rajinder Nagar, as well as Drishti in Mukherjee Nagar. Three basements in Vaji Ram and Ravi IAS hubs building were also sealed, according to a report citing an official statement.Aftermath of the tragedyThe crackdown follows the deaths of three civil services aspirants at Raus IAS Study Circle in Rajinder Nagar, where a library in the basement was flooded. The flooding reportedly caused the failure of the single biometric entry and exit point.A notice posted at the entrance of Drishti (The Vision) in Mukherjee Nagar read, Whereas it has been brought to my notice that the basement of the single unit local shopping centre, Vardhman Mall, Nehru Vihar (combined basement of towers 1, 2, and 3) is being used for a coaching centre, teaching center, institutes in the name and style as Drishti in violation of clause 15.9 of MPD-2021.The MCDs ongoing efforts aim to ensure that safety regulations and legal requirements are strictly followed to prevent such tragic incidents in the future.
