Official apathy behind Delhi student deaths

The grim reality is that the coaching centre tragedy was preventable

They came to Delhi with dreams of joining the civil services, but their parents are now performing their last rites.

This tragic incident occurred at a renowned coaching institute, which housed a reading room in the basement — a space legally designated for parking or storage.

On the fateful day, a faulty safety system allowed floodwaters to enter this basement room, which lacked an alternative exit.

Two girls from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar and a boy from Kerala were drowned. The affected area in Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar is dotted with coaching centres, and the deaths led to widespread student protests against the administration’s apathy.

The flood was caused by clogged drains, which prevented rainwater from flowing properly and led to a rapid inundation of roads and buildings. Reports indicate that within minutes, the water level inside the ‘reading room’ matched that on the street.

Both the state government and the municipal corporation, controlled by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), share culpability for this disaster. However, rather than addressing the problem, officials and ward members have deflected blame onto the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government and the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi.

This blame game obscures the reality: everyone knew that the monsoon would eventually reach Delhi after hitting Kerala. Measures like drain cleaning and obstruction removal should have been prioritised. In a belated response, the municipal authorities have shut down several coaching centres for non-compliance with regulations.

The institute involved in the incident had obtained all necessary safety certificates, including those for fire, electrical, structural, and lift safety. However, it is clear that these certifications meant nothing. The lack of rigorous inspections — or the susceptibility of inspectors to corruption — allowed hazardous conditions to persist.

This incident underscores a broader issue: widespread corruption within bodies like the Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi Municipal Corporation, which leads to numerous buildings lacking completion certificates.

Corruption remains at the heart of this problem. AAP, which rose to power on an anti-corruption platform, has seen its credibility eroded, with both its chief minister and deputy fighting for bail.

This tragedy might have gone unnoticed if the victims had been from poorer backgrounds, highlighting a societal bias in the allocation of attention and resources.

The grim reality is that this tragedy was preventable. It resulted from a failure of governance, a culture of corruption, and a blatant disregard for safety norms.

The loss of young lives aspiring to serve the nation should serve as a wake-up call for immediate and stringent reforms. Accountability must be enforced, the safety and well-being of citizens prioritised, and bureaucratic complacency and political finger-pointing stopped. Only then can we hope to prevent such senseless tragedies.