Influencer & Educator, Vikas Divyakirti on Tuesday broke his silence on Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar tragedy in which three UPSC aspirants lost their lives due to flooding in Rau's IAS Study Circle basement. The death of three IAS aspirants in Rau's IAS Study Circle's basement due to flooding sparked a massive uproar on social media as well as student protests in the national capital. Not only this, famous IAS teachers like Vikas Divyakirti & Awadh Ojha came under the scanner for remaining tight-lipped over the incident. Amid the heat over IAS students' death, MCD took strict action and sealed 20 coaching centers from using unauthorised basements that included Vikas Divyakirti's Drishti IAS.
Now, Vikas Divyakirti has finally broken his silence on the issue and also suggested some solutions to the MHA panel that has been formed by the Centre. Not only this, Vikas Divyakirti in his statement called students' protest completely justified and promised that he will release a video outlining the complexities of the issue. Below is what Vikas Divyakirti said in his detailed note (Translated Version)-
"The following is Team Drishti's view on the tragic incident that took place in the basement of a coaching institute in Rajinder Nagar on Saturday (27 July) and the circumstances that followed:
1) We regret that we delayed in presenting our side. Actually, we did not want to say anything on the basis of incomplete information. We sincerely apologize for this delay.
2) We express our deepest condolences on Saturday's unfortunate incident, in which 3 students Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni and Nivin Dalvin died untimely and painfully. We pay our humble tributes to the three children and pray to God to give courage to their families to bear this irreparable loss.
3) We do not have direct acquaintance with the families of these children but we are completely with them in this hour of grief. If we can do something for them in any way, we will feel grateful.
4) The anger that is visible among the students regarding this accident is completely justified. It would be great if this anger gets a proper direction and the government implements certain guidelines for coaching institutes. In this regard, we are ready to actively cooperate with the government.
5) This problem related to coaching institutes is not as simple as it appears from the surface. It has many aspects which are linked to the ambiguity and contradiction of laws. There is inconsistency in the rules of DDA, MCD and Delhi Fire Department. Similarly, there is a lot of contradiction in the provisions of 'Delhi Master Plan-2021', 'National Building Code', 'Delhi Fire Rules' and 'Unified Building By-Laws'. Except 'Delhi Master Plan-2021', no document has clear provisions for coaching institutes. It is hoped that when the committee appointed by the Union Home Ministry submits its report in a month, most of the above mentioned points will be resolved in it.
6) We can say with full confidence that Team Drishti is extremely cautious about the safety of the students. At present, there is a special post of 'Fire and Safety Officer' in our management, the officers employed on which are graduates of National Fire Service College (Nagpur) and have worked in big hospitals and malls for 14 years. They regularly conduct safety audit of each building. Apart from this, one officer for each building is responsible to check 16 points of safety daily and update the information on 'Building Maintenance Group'. The buildings in which our classrooms are located have at least two entry and exit routes so that in case of any emergency, children can come out safely.
7) The comprehensive action taken by Delhi Municipal Corporation in the last few days is welcome.
8) The permanent solution to this problem is that the government should select three-four areas in Delhi and designate them for coaching institutes. If the government itself prepares classrooms, libraries, hostels, then there will be no problem of high rent nor of security provisions.
9) We will soon release a detailed analysis (article or video) to clarify the complexities of this issue so that all students and other stakeholders can understand all aspects. We are confident that when all aspects are presented, the right path to a solution will emerge.
10) Once again, if our team has made any mistake knowingly or unknowingly, we apologize for that. Now we assure to be more cautious about the safety of students."