Additional Commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) Tariq Thomas conceded that the drowning of three UPSC aspirants in the basement of a coaching centre was the result of the civic body’s failure.
He made this confessional statement during a meeting with a group of students who were on a hunger strike here on Wednesday in protest against the deaths.
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The three students lost their lives on Saturday when the library in the basement of a coaching centre in Central Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar area was flooded with rainwater.
Owning personal responsibility for the lapse, Thomas said, “It is a failure for all of us and for me personally. It is a failure for us as officers that this incident has happened.”
He said if the officials had performed their duties well, this (the tragedy) would not have happened. “We should have done our duty better; there is no excuse for that,” he added
Meanwhile, a delegation of students was taken to the MCD commissioner’s office in a police bus for a meeting. The protesting students vowed to continue their protest until their demands were met.
On Tuesday, the students and the representatives from 15 coaching institutions met Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. According to a student who attended the meeting, they demanded Rs 3 crore in compensation for the families of the deceased students. While the coaching centre is yet to disclose the compensation amount, they have agreed to provide it.
“Representatives of coaching institutes proposed creation of a bridge between the institutes and students to facilitate the payment of compensation money,” the student said.
The lieutenant governor assured the students that a committee would be formed comprising student representatives from coaching institutes and government officials to oversee whether the building norms are being followed properly.
