Hundreds of students staged a protest outside Drishti IAS in North West Delhi’s Mukherjee Nagar after the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) sealed the basement of the renowned coaching institute. This action is part of a crackdown on illegally operating establishments following the recent tragedy in which three civil service aspirants died.
Drishti IAS, managed by educator and YouTuber Vikas Divyakirti, was among seven coaching centres targeted by the MCD in this latest enforcement effort. This included six institutes in Old Rajinder Nagar, Central Delhi. Since the incident on July 27, which saw the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle flood and lead to the deaths of Shreya Yadav from Uttar Pradesh, Tanya Soni from Telangana, and Nivin Dalwin from Kerala, the MCD has sealed the basements of 20 coaching centres in Rajinder Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar that were illegally used for libraries or classes.
On Monday evening, videos surfaced on social media showing students protesting outside Drishti IAS, chanting “we want justice” and marching towards the coaching centre.
The MCD also conducted an anti-encroachment drive in Old Rajinder Nagar, targeting structures obstructing storm drains and contributing to flooding.
MCD Commissioner, Ashwani Kumar stated that sealing drives would continue against establishments using basements for commercial purposes citywide. To date, 20 basements of coaching centres have been sealed, with action taken against 13 institutes in Rajinder Nagar by Sunday and six more sealed on Monday.
Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi announced that the MCD has conducted an anti-encroachment drive to clear structures obstructing storm drains. Additionally, the basement of a coaching institute in Mukherjee Nagar was sealed as part of this operation.
On Monday, the MCD focused on several well-known coaching centres. According to an official statement reported by PTI, the MCD targeted Drishti IAS Institute, Vaji Ram and Ravi IAS Hub, SriRam IAS Institute in Rajinder Nagar, and Drishti (The Vision) in Mukherjee Nagar. Notably, three basements in the Vaji Ram and Ravi IAS Hub were sealed.
This crackdown follows the recent tragedy where three civil service aspirants died after a library in the basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle, located in Rajinder Nagar, was flooded due to heavy rain. The flood reportedly compromised the single biometric entry and exit point.
A notice posted at the entrance of a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar stated: “It has come to my attention that the basement of the Vardhman Mall, Nehru Vihar (combined basements of Tower 1, 2, and 3), is being used for coaching and teaching purposes under the name Dristi (The Vision). This is in violation of clause 15.9 of the MPD-2021.”
Similar notices were affixed at the entrances of other sealed basements in both areas.
