A tragedy in Delhi

THERE is a sense of desperation about the action taken by authorities following the shocking death of three students, who drowned in the flooded basement of a coaching centre in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar on Saturday. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi has terminated the services of a junior engineer and suspended an assistant engineer, besides carrying out an anti-encroachment drive and sealing the premises of several illegal coaching centres in the area.

Ironically, it was just six months ago that the Union Ministry of Education had come up with a set of guidelines for the regulation of coaching centres across the country. The guidelines encompass key aspects, including infrastructure prerequisites, such as fire safety codes, building safety codes and other standards. Are various states and UTs taking these norms seriously? As per 2022 estimates, the coaching industry in India is a huge money-spinner — it is worth Rs 58,000 crore and projected to reach Rs 1.3 lakh crore by 2028. It is not uncommon for operators to make compromises to cut down costs. In the Rajya Sabha, Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar said coaching centres had become no less than gas chambers. The AAP government in Delhi is accusing the Centre-nominated L-G of turning a blind eye to the city’s mess and the BJP is returning the compliment. Perhaps, then, it’s time to ask the ‘What if’ question. What if these children were your own, or those of an influential politician? Would the inquiry have unfolded differently and different lessons be learnt?

The thought of how these three young people — Shreya Yadav from UP, Tanya Soni from Telangana and Nevin Dalvin from Kerala — could drown in the heart of a congested city is horrifying. But if we want to give ourselves the chance of redeeming ourselves — and the memories of these three people — then a political will must be forged to ensure that the guilty are punished. Let a national cleansing take place. Let it begin from Delhi.