India
-Krishna Kripa
Three
civil
services
aspirants
have
died
after
the
basement
of
a
coaching
centre
in
Old
Rajinder
Nagar,
central
Delhi,
was
flooded
following
heavy
rain,
officials
reported.
The
Delhi
Fire
Department
(DFS)
received
a
call
about
waterlogging
at
Raus
IAS
Study
Circle
around
7
pm
on
Saturday.
The
caller
indicated
that
some
people
might
be
trapped
in
the
flooded
basement.
image
A
fire
department
official
stated
that
five
tenders
were
dispatched
to
the
location.
Upon
arrival,
they
found
the
basement
completely
submerged.
During
the
rescue
operation
by
the
NDRF,
local
police,
and
fire
department,
the
bodies
of
two
female
students
and
one
male
student
were
recovered.
The
identities
of
the
deceased
have
not
been
disclosed.
Protests
and
Political
Reactions
Students
protested
against
the
authorities
over
the
deaths,
chanting
slogans.
Revenue
Minister
Atishi
instructed
Chief
Secretary
Naresh
Kumar
to
conduct
an
inquiry
and
submit
a
report
within
24
hours.
“A
magisterial
inquiry
has
been
ordered
to
investigate
how
this
incident
happened.
Whoever
is
responsible
for
this
incident
will
not
be
spared,”
Atishi
posted
on
X.
Delhi
BJP
chief
Virendra
Sachdeva
and
New
Delhi
MP
Bansuri
Swaraj
visited
the
site,
blaming
the
AAP
administration
for
neglecting
repeated
appeals
by
locals
to
clean
the
drains.
“Delhi
Government’s
criminal
negligence
is
responsible
for
this
mishap.
Jal
Board
Minister
Atishi
and
local
MLA
Durgesh
Pathak
should
take
responsibility
and
resign,”
Sachdeva
said.
Rescue
Efforts
and
Challenges
The
rescue
operation
continued
past
midnight.
Preliminary
investigations
revealed
that
the
basement
housed
a
library
where
several
students
were
present
when
water
started
flooding
in
suddenly.
Officials
used
ropes
to
evacuate
trapped
students.
A
police
officer
noted
that
floating
furniture
obstructed
rescue
efforts.
Earlier
this
week,
a
26-year-old
civil
services
aspirant
was
electrocuted
after
touching
an
iron
gate
with
electricity
running
through
it
due
to
heavy
rain
in
Patel
Nagar,
central
Delhi.
BJP
leader
Manjinder
Sirsa
claimed
that
18
people
were
still
trapped,
but
there
was
no
official
confirmation.
Local
Concerns
and
Accountability
Swaraj
mentioned
that
divers
had
to
be
called
in
for
the
rescue
operation.
She
criticised
AAP
MLA
Durgesh
Pathak
for
ignoring
locals’ requests
to
clean
the
drains
over
the
past
week.
“Arvind
Kejriwal,
Durgesh
Pathak
and
the
AAP
government
are
entirely
responsible
for
this
incident,”
she
said.
Authorities
are
investigating
how
the
basement
flooded
so
quickly,
trapping
people
inside.
DCP
Central
Delhi
M
Harshavardhan
told
reporters,
“It
appeared
that
the
basement
got
flooded
very
fast
due
to
which
some
people
were
trapped
inside.”
Revenue
Minister
Atishi
has
directed
an
immediate
inquiry
into
the
incident.
The
investigation
aims
to
determine
responsibility
and
prevent
future
occurrences
of
such
tragedies.
The
tragic
deaths
of
these
aspirants
highlight
significant
concerns
about
infrastructure
maintenance
and
emergency
response
in
central
Delhi’s
Old
Rajinder
Nagar
area.
