Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Professor Vijender Chauhan, a Delhi University academic who trains and conducts mock interviews for UPSC aspirants, has spoken out about the tragic deaths of three civil services aspirants in Delhi. He attributes the incident to the excessive glamour surrounding coaching centres in the national capital, which attracts large numbers of students to unsafe and overcrowded environments.
The unfortunate incident occurred on July 27, when heavy rain inundated Old Rajinder Nagar, flooding the basement of Rau’s IAS coaching centre and resulting in the drowning of three students. Professor Chauhan emphasized that the rainfall could not be solely blamed for the tragedy. Speaking to PTI, he asserted that the incident points to broader systemic issues rather than just civic concerns related to rain.
“The incident is tragic and indicative of a larger issue within the system,” Professor Chauhan said. “It is important to view it from the perspective that there is a large gathering of students in an unhygienic and unsafe basement area under the guise of classes. The reason is that in recent years, the ‘singularity of dreams’ has been hyped up so much, with excessive glamorisation, that many students from across the country flood these places.”
He further added, “This is not a result of the recent rains; it is actually a consequence of the market created by these aspirations.”
Professor Chauhan pointed out that the glamour created around certain professions in India is a significant factor contributing to the overcrowded coaching centres. The incident has led to increased scrutiny of these institutions and the conditions in which they operate.
Following the tragedy, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basements of 20 other coaching centres in the Old Rajinder Nagar area and Mukherjee Nagar for violating building bylaws and using basements for commercial activities, thus endangering students’ lives.
The owner and coordinator of Rau’s IAS coaching centre are currently in judicial custody. The incident has sparked outrage among citizens and political parties, calling for stricter regulation of coaching centres and better drainage systems to prevent such disasters in the future.
As Delhi grapples with this tragedy, the need for safer educational environments and systemic reforms in the coaching industry becomes ever more urgent.
