The death of three UPSC aspirants — Shreya Yadav of Ambedkar Nagar in Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana and Navin Dalwin from Ernakulam in Kerala — due to flooding in the basement of a coaching centre in the national capital is not the first such incident in our country. And it won’t be the last one either. While it is a well-known fact that the Indian system is not creating ‘cities’ but death traps for future generations, the reality is that the government does not care and citizens are left on their own resources to survive. It also true that the pressure to perform can push aspiring Indians to almost any extreme to the extent that sometimes they risk their lives in perilous surroundings.
That is precisely the reason why the UPSC aspirants, coming from different parts of the country, exposed themselves to rain hazards in a basement when it takes only a few minutes of precipitation to flood localities and bring the entire city to its knees.
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The basement of the coaching institute, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, in Old Rajendra Nagar was operating illegally as a library. The institute had misrepresented the basement’s usage, claiming it was designated for parking and as a storeroom, as per the approved building plan and the fire department’s No Objection Certificate.
The incident led to a political slugfest between the ruling and Opposition parties, while the owner and coordinator of the coaching centre have been detained and booked under charges of culpable homicide.
Every now and then such incidents keep on happening in the country. On 24 May, 2019, 22 students lost their lives, and another 19 were left injured after fire broke out at a commercial complex that housed a coaching centre in Surat, Gujarat. The blaze was ignited by a short circuit on the ground floor, which resulted in the collapse of a wooden staircase, trapping the students in the coaching centre.
In January this year, the Centre instructed states and Union Territories to consider adopting guidelines aimed at regulating coaching centres that prepare students for various entrance exams for higher education and government jobs. In a letter addressed to all states and UTs, the Union Government had issued a set of guidelines designed to protect students’ interests, while also promoting greater transparency and accountability within coaching centres. This initiative came in the wake of increasing scrutiny of coaching centres throughout India due to allegations of unfair practices, unsafe facilities, and the immense pressure that students experience. Over the past year, a troubling rise in suicides among students, especially in the coaching hotspot of Kota, has sparked demands for a re-evaluation of the entrance examination process, the coaching industry, and the pressures imposed by parents and educators. Quality jobs are scarce in this country, and competition is tough for whatever positions are available. This makes appearing for competitive exams a ruthless exercise. Adding to the misery of job aspirants are the high and often impractical expectations of parents and society at large.
All these point to a sorry state of affairs in the country.
