Delhi Coaching Incident: Three lives were drowned in the careless system due to half an hour of rain, candidates were unaware of the waterlogging

On Saturday, around 6 pm, due to 58 mm rain in Rajendra Nagar and surrounding areas, when more than three feet of water accumulated on the road, vehicular traffic on Satpal Bhatia Marg, where coaching center Rao IAS Study Circle is located, was stopped.

Before the rain started, about 30-35 students were studying in the library in the basement of the coaching center Rao IAS Study Circle. They were unaware that more than three feet of water had accumulated on the road outside the coaching center. The entrance of the coaching center is just a few inches higher than the road.

To prevent water from entering the coaching center in case of waterlogging on the road, four glass doors of about six feet each have been installed on the ground floor. There are stairs on the ground floor from the back side to go to the basement.

The Thar driver passed at a high speed.

Till around 6:30 pm, water could not enter the basement due to the doors installed in the coaching center. At the same time, a Thar driver passing by here increased the speed of the vehicle after seeing the water accumulation on the road.

A street vendor was stuck in the middle of the road.

At that time a street vendor was stuck in the middle of the road in front of the coaching center. Seeing the Thar coming at a high speed, the street vendor signaled the driver to slow down, but the driver drove the Thar forward at a high speed, due to which the flow of water accumulated on the road increased further.

When the glass door equipped with biometrics broke

This broke a glass door of the coaching center. Due to this, the water accumulated at a height of about three feet in a stretch of about 200 feet on the road outside and found a way to go to the basement through the ground floor. Within two to three minutes, a large amount of water suddenly filled up in the basement at a high speed. Due to this flow, the glass door equipped with biometrics on the stairs to enter the library also broke.

Seeing this, the students present in the library panicked and started trying to run away. In the same sequence, some students were able to come out, and on their shouting, the people present nearby and in the building started the rescue work. During this, efforts were made to save the trapped students with the help of ropes and pipes available there.

Electricity was cut

Meanwhile, on receiving information about waterlogging on the road, the electricity department cut off the electricity in the area. This led to darkness in the basement. During this, other students were evacuated, but Tanya Soni, Navin Dalvin, and Shreya Yadav remained trapped in the basement due to the strong flow of water.

Seeing the situation getting serious, a student informed the police about it at around seven o'clock. The police reached the spot at around seven-thirty and after seeing the situation, informed the regional magistrate about it. They informed the director of the fire department, Atul Garg. After this, five fire engines reached the spot in a short while.

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NDRF was called on the spot

NDRF was also called on the apprehension of three students being missing here. During this time, due to waterlogging, the level of water accumulated on the ground floor and the road had become equal. In such a situation, the agencies engaged in relief and rescue work were finding it difficult to understand how to remove water from the ground floor and basement.

In this sequence, the work of removing water from the road through pumps was started from Satpal Bhatia Marg to Pusa Road. By then, water had also started coming out through the sewer. It was around 9:30 in the night while doing this. After that, NDRF and fire personnel started the work of removing water from the basement of the coaching center. Then one after the other, the bodies of three students were found by 1 o'clock in the night.

The work of removing water continued till 7:30 am on Sunday.

The work of removing water from the basement continued till 7:30 am on Sunday. After this, the entire area of ​​the basement was searched. Police say that there is always waterlogging outside the coaching center during heavy rainfall. Water has entered the basement many times. But, this time due to the pressure of water due to Thar, a door on the ground floor of the coaching center broke and this accident happened.

The operator of Rao Coaching Centre also knew that there was waterlogging in his basement. Therefore, he had also installed a motor pump in the basement, so that in case of waterlogging, the water could be drained out on the road. For this, a separate pipe was also installed on the road outside the basement.

What is the reason for waterlogging?

Old Rajendra Nagar is a low-lying area. There is a drain about 20 feet deep under its main Satpal Bhatia Marg. There are nets installed at short intervals on the road for rainwater drainage. However, these nets are victims of encroachment due to shops being set up on the pavement and being jammed with garbage and polythene at other places.

Rainwater from the entire Old Rajendra Nagar including Shankar Road, and New Rajendra Nagar located in this area goes there. Due to rain and being a low-line area, the water pressure is the highest on this Satpal Bhatia Marg. In such a situation, waterlogging starts on the road due to the choking of the drain. This drain was not cleaned completely due to encroachment and negligence of MCD workers. As a result, waterlogging occurred.