Drishti IAS Head Vikas Divyakirti Responds To Basement Tragedy, Crackdown

Under fire for violating safety norms in one of its centres in Delhi, Drishti IAS head Vikas Divyakirti has said its team is very cautious about the safety of its students and said the problem is “more complicated than it appears”.

This comes after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) cracked down on several coaching centres, including Drishti IAS, for violating safety norms and sealed the institutes. This crackdown followed the tragedy in Rajinder Nagar, in which three civil service aspirants drowned due to waterlogging in the basement library of Rau’s IAS Study Circle.

The action prompted social media users to target Vikas Divyakirti, a former civil servant, an entrepreneur and a prominent voice in the education space.

प्रेस विज्ञप्ति

तिथि- 30 जुलाई, 2024

शनिवार (27 जुलाई) को राजिंदर नगर स्थित एक कोचिंग संस्थान की बेसमेंट में हुई त्रासद घटना तथा उसके बाद बनी परिस्थितियों पर टीम दृष्टि का पक्ष निम्नलिखित है:

1) हमें खेद है कि हमने अपना पक्ष रखने में देरी की। वस्तुतः हम नहीं चाहते थे कि अधूरी… pic.twitter.com/qp3hpkgYs6

— Drishti IAS (@drishtiias) July 30, 2024

In a statement shared on X, Mr Divyakirti expressed his condolences for the families of the three victims of the basement tragedy — Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni and Nevin Dalwin.

“The anger among students is completely valid. It would be good if this anger is channelised in the right direction and the government lays down guidelines for coaching centres. We are ready to assist the government in this regard,” he said.

He then said that the problem regarding coaching centres is more complicated than it appears. “There are many aspects that are linked by lack of clarity and conflict. There is inconsistency in the rules of DDA, MCD and Delhi Fire Department. There is also conflict in National Building Code, Delhi Fire Rules and Unified Building Bye-Laws,” Mr Divyakirti pointed out, hoping that the Home Ministry-appointed panel to probe the tragedy will address these concerns.

Stressing that it is extra cautious about its students’ safety, he said Drishti IAS has on its management a Fire and Safety Officer who is an alumnus of National Fire Services College, has worked in this area for 14 years and conducts regular safety audits of the coaching centres.

The coaching chain welcomed the actions taken by MCD in the wake of the tragedy. “A permanent solution is that the government allocated three-four zones in Delhi for coaching centres. If the government readies classrooms, libraries and hostel, the problems of high fees and safety issues will be resolved,” he said, adding that Drishti IAS will soon come up with a detailed analysis on this issue.

“We assure you that we will be more cautious about students’ safety,” Mr Divyakirti added.