New Delhi:

The Delhi High Court ripped into police and city officials in equal measure Friday in a hearing on the deaths last week of three students in the flooded – by rainwater and sewage from a clogged drain – basement of an IAS exam tuition centre. “Some officer has to be liable. These people must be alive.”

A furious court asked serious questions of the Municipal Corporation and its ability to plan and maintain city infrastructure, particularly in times of crises like floods. “They are not equipped to deal with it… maybe they don’t understand how civic planning works. MCD officials are responsible for ensuring drains are functional… there is criminal negligence. It is not a swimming pool here.”

The court also made several pointed remarks about the infrastructure in the national capital; on Wednesday it had summoned the MCD Director.

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Appearing today, the Director was asked – “Why is water getting accumulated in the area” – and the response came, “Drain alongside road should be functional”. The Director did not, however, explain why the water did not clear. The court then criticised the civic body for “not doing anything”.

“Ensure Drains Function”: Court Rebukes MCD

“If a portion of the drain was under repair… someone should have done something. Why was the officer not aware of all this? You need not be a scientist to expect heavy rainfall this monsoon.”

“Water won’t spare anyone. It doesn’t know address… you have to ensure drains function,” the court thundered, two days after reprimanding the MCD, “You permit multi-storey buildings but there is no proper drain. You have mixed sewage with storm water drain, there is reverse flow…”

READ | Delhi Coaching Centre Loses Fire Safety Nod After Basement Tragedy

The court told the MCD chief, “You must ensure water has a way to flow. If drainage needs to be revamped, do it this winter. Prepare a plan. When it rained again day before, there was flooding again in the area. There is something fundamentally wrong. There is clear neglect on part of your officials.”

READ | Area Where IAS Aspirants Died Flooded Again After More Rain

The Delhi High Court also asked how building plans – which included use of the basement in violation of permits – had been sanctioned, and asked Delhi Police if they had taken action in that context.

Delhi Police Under Fire

“You (the cops) are not ordinary citizens who have to wait… Why are you asking us to say all this? You are not a novice. You think criminals will come and confess?” the court asked sarcastically.

“Has the IO (investigating officer) recorded that the drain was dysfunctional? Does s/he know who the building’s architects are? Has he interrogated them?” the court demanded of the police and then expressed further dismay when told even MCD officials’ statements had not, so far, been recorded.

The court also took a jibe at the cops’ decision to arrest the man who drove an SUV through the flooded street; the cops claimed  the swell of floodwater as the car passed led to the tragedy and accused him of culpable homicide not amounting to murder. That charge was dropped and the man released on bail. 

READ | “Didn’t Challan Water?” Court Jabs Delhi Cops, CBI To Probe Deaths

Tania Soni, Shreya Yadav – both 25 – and Navin Delvin, 28 – drowned last week after the basement of a building in Rajendra Nagar, operating as Rau’s IAS Study Circle, was flooded. Inquiries have unearthed multiple violations by the owners of the building and coaching centre, including using the basement without due clearance and lying to obtain a certificate from the Fire Department.

There have also been massive protests – led by the student community – against the lack of flood control infrastructure, or even storm water drains that work as they should. The street outside the coaching centre was flooded after heavy rains in the preceding 24-48 hours, but blocked drains meant the floodwater did not clear and, as more rain fell, it poured into the building’s basement.

READ | “Being Treated Like Criminals…” Students Protest Basement Deaths

“Rain water won’t go. It will reach your house… my house. It won’t go if it won’t get a path,” the court said, “Today even Yamuna is encroached. There is one lawyer… he files many PILs (public interest litigations)… he claimed a five km stretch of the Yamuna has been reduced to 500 m,” the court said today, warning, as many have, “If encroachments are not removed, flooding will happen (again).”

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New Delhi:

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has sealed the basements of six more coaching institutes in Central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar and one in North West Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar in a crackdown on illegally run establishments following the tragedy on Saturday in which three civil services aspirants died.

Several prominent coaching institutes like Dristi (The Vision) are among those facing action. The civic body also carried out an anti-encroachment drive in Old Rajindra Nagar to demolish structures that were covering the storm drains that led to flooding in the area, officials said on Monday.

The sealing drive will also be carried out against establishments illegally using basements for commercial activities in other parts of the city, MCD commissioner Ashwani Kumar told reporters.

So far, 20 basements of coaching centres that were illegally being used either as libraries or for providing classes in both Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar have been sealed, the officials said.

“Till Sunday we took action against 13 basements of coaching institutes running in Rajendra Nagar. On Monday we resumed the sealing drive and sealed six more basements of such institutes in the same area.

“The MCD also carried out an anti-encroachment drive to remove structures covering the storm drains.

“Additionally, the basement of a coaching institute has been sealed in Mukherjee Nagar, where a sealing drive was also carried out by us,” Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi said.

The names of prominent coaching centres which came under the MCD scanner on Monday include — Drishti IAS Institute, Vaji Ram and Ravi IAS hub, and SriRam IAS Institute in Rajinder Nagar and Drishti (The Vision) in Mukherjee Nagar, according to an official statement.

Three basements in the building of Vaji Ram and Ravi IAS hub were sealed, it said.

The crackdown comes two days after three civil services aspirants died after a library housed in the basement of their coaching centre, Rau’s IAS Study Circle, in Rajinder Nagar was inundated following heavy rain, and reportedly led to the failure of the single biometric entry and exit point.

“Whereas it has been brought to my notice that basement of single unit local shopping centre, Vardhman Mall, Nehru Vihar, (combined Basement of Tower 1, 2 and 3) is being used for coaching centre, teaching centre, institutes in the name and style as Dristi (The Vision) the instance of owner and occupier in violation of clause 15.9 of MPD-2021,” read the notice pasted at the entrance of a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar.

Similar, notices were pasted at the entrance of the basements sealed by the civic body in both the areas.

Meanwhile, the closure of many libraries is causing a problem for students preparing for civil services.

A UPSC aspirant studying at one of the coaching centres in Mukherjee Nagar said libraries at most of the centres have been closed after the Saturday incident.

“I have to appear for UPSC Mains in one and a half months and the library at my centre has been closed. My books and all the preparation material are inside the library and now I am not allowed to collect my books,” the student said.

“We got a message on Sunday night, saying we should collect our books, etc. from the library by 6 am today. I was sleeping so how was I supposed to collect them by morning. Most students here are preparing for UPSC Mains,” the student added.

The MCD also terminated an officer and suspended another from the maintenance department for the lapse in containing waterlogging.

On Sunday, the civic body had sealed 13 illegal coaching centres in the area.

Rau’s IAS Study Circle, where the three students died on Saturday, has already been sealed by police.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)