Hundreds of students staged a protest outside the Drishti IAS coaching centre in North West Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basement of the institute. This action was part of a crackdown on illegally operated establishments following a tragedy on Saturday in which three civil services aspirants died.
Drishti IAS, run by educator and YouTuber Vikas Divyakirti, was among seven coaching institutes sealed by the MCD. Six of these were located in Central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar. Since the incident on July 27, the basements of 20 coaching centres in Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar have been sealed for illegal use as libraries or classrooms.
The incident involved the deaths of Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nevin Dalwin from Kerala after the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle was flooded following heavy rain. The protest on Monday evening saw students chanting “we want justice” and marching to Drishti IAS.
In addition to the sealing operations, the MCD conducted an anti-encroachment drive in Old Rajinder Nagar to remove structures blocking storm drains, which contributed to the flooding. The drive will extend to other parts of the city where basements are used for unauthorized commercial activities, according to MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi stated that 13 basements in Rajinder Nagar were sealed by Sunday, with six more sealed on Monday. Drishti IAS Institute, Vaji Ram and Ravi IAS hub, and SriRam IAS Institute were among the notable centres targeted. The crackdown follows the failure of a single biometric entry and exit point at Rau’s IAS Study Circle during the flood, leading to the aspirants’ deaths.
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