Within a week since the tragic death of three UPSC aspirants at Rau’s IAS Study Circle, the national capital witnessed heavy rain on Wednesday night, flooding the same basement one more time.
On July 27 evening, three young UPSC aspirants drowned in the basement of the Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar after it got flooded with water after heavy rain. The three students were inside the library in the basement.
On Wednesday night, the road was flooded again after it rained for a few hours, highlighting the failure of the authorities and no improvement in the situation. A couple of meters away, a group of students continued their sit-in that started from the intervening night of July 27 and July 28.
As News18 visited the spot on Saturday (August 3), machines were deployed outside the study center, which is temporarily closed. These machines were pumping out water from the basement. “We are pumping out water from the basement. It got flooded in this week’s rain again,” said one of the laborers deployed at the site, requesting anonymity.
The entry inside the building was not allowed but the machines and the staff deployed outside were enough to tell the condition of the basement. A few meters away, two trucks from MCD were also deployed to clean the drains outside the coaching centre. The MCD employees refused to comment.
NO END TO STUDENTS’ WOES
“Drainage was not our only issue. There are so many problems the students are facing but the authorities are not listening to us. The political parties are saying they are with us, but the issue is that they are actually with their votes, who are the landowners and the brokers in this area. Broker nexus needed to end in the area,” said 24-year-old Prince Yadav.
He moved to the area in 2018 from his home in Agra.
“These brokers are not letting coaching centres move outside the locality because they know if the coaching will go, students will also go. Even the tea sellers are charging Rs 20 for one cup of tea whereas in the rest of the city you can find tea roadside at Rs 10. They know students will prioritise their time and pay without wasting time. That is also the reason students are forced to live in the same area where the coaching centres are,” he added.
Yadav went on to say that everyone is aware about the traffic woes in the city and if a student will spend two to three hours in daily travel, when will they study? “Every second is important for the students and that is where we are exploited,” he added.
Standing along with him was Vikas Kumar Singh from Bihar’s Arrah. Singh added to Yadav’s opinion that one important thing that no one understands is that landowners are the biggest problem in the area. “They are charging high rents to fill their coffers and exploiting the students who are coming from outside,” he said.
Singh went on to say that the locals are breaking the rules and the only fault the authorities have is that they failed to take action on time. “But those who own the land have blocked the drainage system. There is no opening left on the drains for the water on the road to move. MCD or police have not built those ramps but the landowners have,” he said.
Singh also accused the landowners of increasing the rent of upper floors after the basements across the area were sealed. The two were among the crowd of protesting students. Even though the students News18 spoke to didn’t know each other, the common issues brought them together to the protest site. Close to 100 students were there in the protest.
COACHING CENTRES IN AREA CLOSED
The protesting students also said that coaching centres are keeping away from students because they understand the students are angry. “Almost all centres are closed in the area. Most likely a few of these will start from Monday,” said Sonika Shukla, hailing from Uttar Pradesh.
REDRESSAL FORUM FOR STUDENTS
The students protesting on the road demand that there should be a committee or a redressal forum for students where they can go and register any issue they face so that authorities can help them.
“Girls face sexual harassment and they have no place to go. If they go and tell their families, the first thing the families will do is that they will call us back home without wasting any time. If we file a police complaint, then also the family will know and the dreams to become something will shatter,” Shukla added.
Mangesh Sonawne, 25-year-old mechanical engineer from Chandrapur in Maharashtra also highlighted that students are being harassed by brokers and no one is there to help them. “Brokers are harassing the students, the coaching centre and PGs are bothering the students and we have no place to complain but to suffer. There should be a student cell for every student,” he said.
MORE LIBRARIES IN AREA
The students also raised the issue of closing of libraries in the area that created shortage of space for students to study. “They closed the libraries but there are no new libraries in the area. The existing ones, which are not closed, have increased their rates. How many students can afford paying Rs 6,000 to Rs 8,000 to libraries?” Sonawne added.
The library shortage has also started impacting the study. Sonawne explained that students have different preferences for a comfortable study and sleep time that may impact the fellow roommates, if they study in room. “I stay with five men. We study and sleep at different times. One student’s study cycle should not impact another,” he explained.
Limited money in hand and the high rent of rooms in the area forces students to stay in groups to reduce the financial burden.
Sonawne was among the students who did not opt for coaching due to its high cost but depended on library and friends for the study materials. On the other hand, he also worked part-time in one of the libraries in the area to earn some money.
Deependra Singh Thakur from Indore said his studies are impacted after the library he was enrolled in was closed. However, he also said that if they went back to the studies and not raised the issue then it would not be of any worth.
“If we will not stand against what is happening with fellow students, then who will. At least being with them morally is important,” said the 22-year-old.
He also questioned the library owners for raising the fee. “If they had any humanity, they should not have increased the fee. After so many libraries were closed, most of the students are looking for a new place to study. If they were charging Rs 2,500, they should have kept the amount unchanged and once reaching the capacity, they should have said that they cannot take more students. But instead, they increased the rate and now only those from privileged backgrounds could afford that amount,” he said.
The students said they will continue the protest unless their issues have been resolved and the authorities take concrete steps to ease their lives.
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