The three IAS aspirants recently lost their lives in a horrific incident that occurred in Rajinder Nagar in Delhi. Subsequently, the civic bodies have started evicting people residing in the buildings, which is causing a hindrance to the drainage system in the area.
The imprudent use of Rau’s IAS Study Circle’s basement — which is actually a building meant for a different purpose than educational—was used for parking and storing cars. On Saturday evening, during a downpour, it was flooded.
The basement had only one door to come out, and one day, it locked students inside. Due to the rising water level in the school, Tanya Soni,Shreya Yadav, and Navin Dalwin drowned in the school alone.
In this connection, the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) initiated a bulldozer operation today to remove cement blocks blocking the area’s drains. Isolated video clips obtained from ANI captured the MCD working hard and finally trying to solve the age-old problem of blocked drainage systems and regular water logging.
The crackdown occurred after the MCD had earlier sealed 13 IAS coaching centres for violating building norms. Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has asked for a probe to determine if there was negligence on MCD officials’ part. Following the incident, MCD Commissioner Ashwani Kumar fired the Junior Engineer concerned and suspended the Assistant Engineer.
The event has raised serious concern over MCD’s inept response to the problem, coupled with negligence and historical advice to MCD on blocked drains and encroachment that has led to long-standing water logging in the area.
The loss of the IAS aspirants has been vehemently followed by acts of protest against the unwarranted ‘criminal negligence’ by the government resulting from their deaths. In this respect, a student opined, ‘All this is for show’, which underlined the perceived lack of serious actions that are meant to resolve the problems.
As the investigation of the incident is ongoing, the crackdown on Rajinder Nagar shows that the MCD and other related authorities need to find solutions for the city’s longstanding infrastructural and drainage problems, especially the extreme weather that can lead to disastrous outcomes.
