The System Has Failed Us: 3 UPSC Aspirants Drowned In Drainage Water And Died; That Too In The Capital City Delhi; Who Will Take Responsibility?

Lately, it feels truly scary to open any social media or news media website. Almost every day, there is a grim news that sends shock waves in the entire country. The frequency has become so high that I fear that the day we become indifferent to such incidents is not far. The recent news is that 3 UPSC aspirants drowned and died in the drainage water in the capital city Delhi.

There are billboard, roads, shelters, etc. falling apart and claiming people’s lives. There are potholes, broken roads, and water clogging claiming people’s lives. There are lose electrical wires or uncovered drain holes claiming people’s lives.

It is a sorry state if people of the country pass away in such situations, just because of the system’s failure.

UPSC Aspirants Drowned and Died – What Happened Exactly?

Three pupils perished on Saturday as a result of being ensnared in the flooded basement of a coaching centre in Old Rajendra Nagar, Delhi. The rescue teams of NDRF and local police discovered the bodies of the three victims several hours after the area was badly flooded.

The police have reported that all three victims were Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirants who were enrolled in Rau’s IAS coaching institute.

The three victims have been identified as Shreya Yadav from Ambedkar Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nivin Dalwin from Ernakulam, Kerala.

Around 7 p.m. on Saturday, the Delhi fire department received a call regarding waterlogging in the Karol Bagh area and the Rao IAS Study Centre, according to the police. Reports indicated that two or three students were stranded in a flooded basement.

Upon their arrival, they discovered that the cellar was flooded. Initially, the efforts to pump out the water were impeded by the continued flow of rainwater into the cellar. However, the water level was able to be reduced from 12 feet to eight feet and the bodies of the students were retrieved after the road water receded.

12 to 14 of the approximately 30 students in the coaching centre were rescued and transported to a hospital, while the remaining students were able to escape.

The police have announced that the rescue operation has been finalized. They also stated that an investigation will be conducted to ascertain the reason for the class being held in the basement and the manner in which the water infiltrated the area.

In the interim, the authorities apprehended the owner and coordinator of the coaching center and initiated a criminal investigation into the students’ deaths.

Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has instructed the MCD Commissioner to take severe action against educational institutions in Delhi that fall under the jurisdiction of the MCD and are conducting commercial activities in basements that violate building regulations. and do not adhere to the rules.

She further stated that an immediate investigation will be undertaken to determine whether any MCD officers are accountable for this calamity. She stated that the most severe action must be taken against any official who is proven guilty.

According to sources within the Delhi Fire Services, the coaching center breached multiple building permits. The basement was intended for storage purposes, as indicated by a no-objection certificate issued by the fire department. However, it was being utilized as a library.

Delhi L-G VK Saxena expressed his sorrow over the fatalities, stating that such occurrences suggest criminal neglect and a lack of maintenance by agencies and departments. He stated that he has requested that the divisional commissioner submit a comprehensive report on the incident by Tuesday, July 30.

“We literally pay to risk our lives”, Says An Aspirant

In front of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, students showcased their dissatisfaction with the public authorities and the centers by staging a protest. “Everyone is arguing that the number of students in a room is excessive.”

“Occasionally, there are 300-400 students in a single room,” stated Vishal Mittal, a UPSC aspirant at Vision IAS.

When AAP MP Swati Maliwal visited the coaching center, students protesting outside the institute raised slogans against her, including, “Swati, go back.” Students who were protesting declared, “We will not permit you to engage in political activities.”

Maliwal, on the other hand, stated that the students are “angry and sad” and that not a single minister of the Delhi government has been present at the site for more than 12 hours. Additionally, the mayor and MDC officers are absent.

Ramji Awasthi, a student at Vision IAS and took the exam this year, said that nearly every coaching center and library operates in the basement. “A woman was electrocuted in a library four days ago as a result of water entering the basement following a brief rainfall.”

Fortunately, the incident was of a minor nature. However, these incidents occur often in this location, according to him.

According to a student of Sarthi IAS, his acquaintance was among those rescued from Rau’s last night.

“At that moment, approximately twenty individuals were present in the library. A few students elected to take a stroll. They also invited my friend, Prabhakar, to attend; however, he elected to pursue his studies.” He stated, “Tanya was his friend; they were both planning to depart at a later date.”

The student stated that Rau’s generally has more number of students present; however, due to the fact that it was a weekend, there were fewer students present on the day of the incident.

The student recounted the incident, as it was told to him by his friend, and stated that the water began to infiltrate the basement at approximately 7:30 p.m.

“The electricity was immediately disconnected by security personnel.” The authorities were the first to arrive. A senior constable entered the basement and rescued 4-5 individuals. Prabhakar was also rescued. He stated that two corpses were removed more than an hour later.

An aspirant Hridesh Chauhan wrote on X, “I’m one of survivor of this horrible incident, within 10 min basement was filled, it was 6.40 when we called police and NDMA but they reach after 9 PM till then my 3 UPSC aspirants mates lost their lives. 3 are hospitalized pray for them who cares our life.”

The National Disaster Management Authority reaching the site of incident after a delay of over two hours tells one a lot about how seriously the authorities take their jobs and the lives of civilians they have sworn to protect.

Efforts to persuade authorities to address issues in the Central Delhi coaching center have been unsuccessful, according to students. “They charge between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 to sit in these libraries.” Despite our numerous complaints, no action has been taken. A student at the sit-in protest stated, “No one from Rau’s has come forward and spoken to us.”

A protesting student stated, “There is no one to take the responsibility,” in response to Atishi’s request for a magisterial probe. We are seeking a representative from the government to visit us and assume responsibility for the loss of all students.

How are they enhancing the future of anyone by tweeting or composing a letter from their air conditioning rooms?

Another pupil stated that the MCD had acted with complete negligence. “MCD says it is a disaster, but I would say that this is complete negligence. Knee-deep water gets logged in half an hour of rain.

Disaster is something that happens sometimes. My landlord said that he had been asking the councilor for the last 10-12 days that the drain must be cleaned. The first demand is that action should be taken against the culprits.”

A UPSC candidate stated, “We are demanding that those accountable for this negligence be held accountable.” The businesses that have been opened in the basement are being operated illegally, and there are no safety measures in place. Therefore, it is imperative that these actions be halted and that action be taken.

“We demand that all illegally located libraries in basements be closed immediately.” MCD should investigate the source of the problem, as this is not the first instance of water logging in this location. The last time it rained, vehicles were seen floating in the water. Another UPSC aspirant, Aman Shukla, stated, “They have not taken any action in the past year; no senior official has visited this location to date.”

Pay Taxes Like England, Get Facilities Like Somalia

Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha has intensified his criticism of the BJP-led NDA government for the Union Budget 2024-25. He stated on Thursday that citizens of the nation must pay taxes similar to those of England in order to access facilities similar to those of Somalia.

“If a common man earns Rs 10, then he has to pay Rs 3 for income tax, Rs 2 – 2.50 goes into GST, Rs 2 goes into Capital Gain charges and Rs 1 -1.50 goes into some other charges, which means Rs 7-8 goes into the treasure of the government. What does the common man gain?

What do they do from these taxes? Are they providing world-class infrastructure, health care, transport, or education services? We, in India, pay taxes like England to get services like Somalia.“

A hard-working citizen works day and night, all their life to secure their family future. In a country where the income is already bare minimum per the work one puts in, paying taxes anyway burns a hole in pockets.

Still, people do their part and pay taxes, in the hopes of getting the return on their taxes. However, the disappointment only grows, with no solution in sight.

Political Blame Game Has Already Started

The incident initiated a blame game between the AAP, which assumed power in the MCD a year ago, and the BJP, which had governed the civic body for 15 years.

Meanwhile, Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the opposition in Lok Sabha and a Congress MP, referred to the incident as a “collective failure of the system” and expressed his condolences for the three students’ fatalities.

On Sunday, the BJP condemned and held the AAP government accountable for the drowning of three UPSC aspirants who perished on Saturday as a result of water abruptly entering the basement of a coaching center in Delhi.

“Murder is not an accident.” Shehzad Poonawalla, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), referred to the incident as “murder” rather than an accident. He further stated that “AAP’s criminal negligence is the reason for the loss of life of at least three girls.”

Poonawalla stated, “Many deaths have occurred in a similar manner,” in reference to the recent death of another UPSC aspirant who was electrocuted while attempting to traverse a waterlogged street.

Virendra Sachdeva, the Delhi BJP chief, and Bansuri Swaraj, the New Delhi MP, also visited the site and attributed the incident to the AAP administration. They claimed that the local MLA had disregarded the residents’ repeated requests to clear the drains.

“This incident is the result of the criminal negligence of the Delhi government.” Sachdeva stated that Jal Board Minister Atishi and local MLA Durgesh Pathak should accept responsibility and resign.

Swaraj stated that divers were required to evacuate the students. “For the past week, residents have been advocating for AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak to clean the drain in this location.” Nevertheless, Durgesh Pathak did not pay attention to their advice.

“This incident is entirely the responsibility of the AAP government, Durgesh Pathak, and Arvind Kejriwal,” she stated.

Virendra Sachdeva, the president of the Delhi BJP, stated, “What has happened there is not a tragedy but murder. How was the library functioning in the basement? What happened to an investigation set up earlier? These students are the future of the country… You people (Delhi government) are involved in this corruption. The people were continuously asking for the drainage to be cleaned, what were you doing? The AAP government has destroyed entire Delhi. What is their (students) fault that they came to Delhi to study? You people should be ashamed.“

“The water has receded, but enough is enough. This is a completely criminal activity, strict action should be taken against the officials who are responsible… Desilting (of drain) was done but still, there should be an inquiry and if someone is responsible, strict action should be taken.”

“Delhi’s drainage system has collapsed and the reason for this is that the BJP was in power for 15 years. We have been here for the last one year and are working on the drains, but I do not want to get into any blame game, I want it to be investigated and strict action should be taken against whoever is responsible,” said Durgesh Pathak, the MLA of Old Rajender Nagar and a leader of the AAP.

Mallikarjun Kharge, the national president of the Congress party, expressed his sorrow over the three IAS aspirants’ deaths, which were attributed to waterlogging in a cellar. He stated that the “brunt of indifference” is being felt by the capital of India, and that such incidents occur on a daily basis.

The government and administration’s criminal negligence resulted in the tragic loss of three young lives as a result of waterlogging in the basement of an IAS coaching center in the capital city of Delhi.

A week back, a UPSC aspirant passed away as a result of electric shock caused by waterlogging in Patel Nagar. In the past few days, eight individuals have perished as a result of electric shock, according to reports.

The capital of India is currently experiencing the consequences of indifference. Accidents continue to occur on a daily basis. The occurrence of such an incident in the nation’s capital is a cause for considerable concern for all of us.

“We must enhance the safety of our citizens and ensure that those who reside and visit our capital are not overlooked,” Kharge stated in a post on X.

When Will Authorities Finally Understand The Value of A Life?

This has become extremely common for political leaders to take to social media and express their “condolences” after the incident has occurred. However, the question to ask is, who is working to ensure that such events are not repeated?

According to the police, a 45-year-old male was electrocuted at his residence in Sadar Bazar, north Delhi, on Wednesday morning. Due to the rainfall, the vicinity of the residence was saturated with water. Kumar was fatally struck by a live wire adjacent to the residence upon exiting the building.

On Monday, Nilesh Rai, a 26-year-old UPSC aspirant, passed away after he fell on a waterlogged street and clung to an iron gate for support. He was electrocuted as a result of an exposed motor wire that was in contact with the gate.

On Wednesday, July 20, a 30-year-old worker passed away at approximately 12:30 p.m. while working at a construction site in Karawal Nagar. Additionally, on July 13, a head constable perished after being electrocuted while investigating a theft case in Najafgarh. Although some of these fatalities were caused by waterlogging, others were the result of victims coming into contact with electric wires.

On July 13, a 34-year-old woman was electrocuted by a live wire that had fallen on the ground while wading through a waterlogged street in Yamuna Vihar.

A 34-year-old school teacher was electrocuted outside the New Delhi railway station premises on Sunday after inadvertently coming into contact with a live wire during a rainfall event nearly a year ago.

Mangles of loose wires are protruding from electricity poles in numerous locations, including Minto Road, DDU Marg, New Friends Colony, West Patel Nagar, Rani Bagh, and Shakarpur, during a spot inspection on Wednesday, as reported by Hindustan Times. According to a civic official, the issue is particularly acute in unauthorised colonies during the monsoon.

A spokesperson for the BSES also stated that the discom conducts routine maneuvers in the city, but these measures have little to no impact. An outdated drainage system that results in water logging, coupled with unauthorised connections, power leakage, and improper fixtures, creates a lethal combination during the monsoon.

Until July, 50 instances of electrocution were reported over the past year, resulting in the deaths of 26 individuals, as per data shared by sources in the power department. Encroachment and the illicit extension of houses around electricity poles were significant factors contributing to these incidents.

The question arises – who is giving the permission to build houses in places which are in close proximity to the electric poles? Nothing happens in the city without the authorities’ permission, by hook or by crook. Why does the police not take any action when a facility is operated or constructed illegally? 

Sitting in AC residences, while having househelps do all the manual work and sipping tea and eating lavish food, and tweeting about the incidents that claim lives of innocent people is the easiest thing in the world. But when will the officials start doing the work they are meant to do?

The norm of waiting for an unfortunate incident to occur before the authorities will step up has become common practice. Even then, nothing changes. Tomorrow, even if Rajendra Nagar’s coaching institutes are mandated to operate legally in the light of the recent incident, who’s to say such a thing won’t be repeated in GTB Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, or any other coaching hub of Delhi?

Our deepest condolences are with the families and loved ones of the deceased students, who were working relentlessly to build a future for themselves. May this become a wake up call for the governments to step up their action before the public loses their patience.

It shouldn’t take another incident of an innocent fighting for their life, trying to wade through drainage water in a flooded basement or getting electrocuted by a loose wire in the water. Our citizens deserve better. They at least deserve the basic right to life.

The government is for people, not the other way round!