A civil services aspirant has appealed to Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, to take immediate action against those responsible for the deaths of three students in a flooded coaching centre in East Delhi's Rajinder Nagar.
In a letter to the Chief Justice, Avinash Dubey urged the protection of Fundamental Rights, flagging substandard infrastructure in areas like Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar where IAS coaching centres have multiplied, flouting safety norms over several decades.
"Due to rain, the basement got filled with water and three students lost their lives. Sir, areas like Mukherjee Nagar and Rajendra Nagar are facing the problem of water logging every year for many years due to the negligence of the Municipal Corporation. We have to walk in knee-deep drain water... Today students like us are preparing for (our exams) while living a life of hell...", the letter read as per the media reports.
Dubey continued, "Students like us are moving towards our goal by any means. But yesterday's incident proved the lives of students are not safe... Delhi government and Municipal Corporation force us to live a life like pests..."
“Sir, it is our fundamental right to study while living a healthy life. The above incident is extremely heart-rending and worrying. Due to water logging, there is a serious threat to the safety and health of students studying in (such) centres... students need a safe and healthy environment so they can study without fear, and contribute to the development of the country…" the letter further stated.
The tragic death of three civil services aspirants after the basement of the coaching centre they studied in was flooded following heavy rain in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area on Saturday has sparked massive outrage, leading to protests and action by the authorities that has resulted in the sealing of several illegally-run basements of coaching centres.
A team of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi reached the Old Rajinder Nagar area to seal several illegally-run basements of coaching centres, a statement by the Delhi government said on Sunday.
Around 13 such coaching centres were sealed during the action till late Sunday night. The Rau's IAS Study Circle, where the incident took place on Saturday, has been sealed by the police and the process of the building's NOC has been initiated.
