What are Delhi Government’s new safety guidelines for schools after UPSC aspirants’ death

Following the recent unfortunate incident in which three Civil Service aspirants drowned to death in the basement of a coaching institute and one aspirant lost his life due to electrocution, the Delhi Government has issued guidelines to ensure safety and security of school students. The guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education will be applicable to private as well as government/aided schools.

A circular issued by the Government reads, “It is imperative that all schools in the Government of National Capital Territory Delhi (GNCT of Delhi) shall and sure safety and security of students and shall have proper requisite infrastructure in place to avoid any untold incident.”

New Safety Guidelines

Following are the guidelines which every school has to adhere to from now on:

All schools will have to follow the provisions of master plan for Delhi 2021 regarding the use of basement in public buildings.

The basements if any in school buildings shall be used only for permissible activities as per provisions of the master plan and as per the sanction plan.

All gates of the school buildings shall be functional and opened for entry and exit.

The access to the basement shall be properly mark and clearly indicated in the school evacuation plan.

School authorities will have to keep the corridors free from obstructions at all times and ensure smooth passage.

School authorities will have to ensure all necessary steps are being taken to avoid water logging in an around the school premises.

Electrical wirings and fittings including appliance shall be checked and all safety norms be followed to avoid any kind of untoword related incident.

The school shall have all requisite fire safety measures in place.

Delhi Coaching Centre deaths

Three students identified as Shreya Yadav, Tanya Soni, and Nevin Dalvin died after rain water gushed inside of basement of a coaching institute building in Old Rajinder Nagar on July 27. The UPSC aspirants died after being trapped in a basement library at Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajinder Nagar. The library flooded following a heavy downpour in Delhi on Saturday. A week earlier, another student in Mukherjee Nagar died after he touched an iron gate that was in contact with an open wire.

The Old Rajinder Nagar incident has sparked a political controversy with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party facing criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party. The Delhi high court has criticised the role being played by Delhi Police into the investigation of the case and has questioned the responsibility of Municipal Corporation of Delhi in the case. The High Court has also indicated that it would transfer the investigation to the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) or the Lokpal.

Meanwhile, Delhi Mayor Shelly Oberoi has proposed that four libraries should be established in the name of the civil services aspirants who died last month, as per reports.