Lakhs of people alight at Delhi railway station every day, many of those alighting on the platform have a hope of achieving something. Some come with the desire to earn money and some with the dream of becoming something. These are mostly youngsters. There is sadness of leaving home in their eyes but there is also a sparkle of becoming IAS. But the coaching center accident that happened in Rajendra Nagar area on 27th July has exposed the coaching centers and all the comforts and facilities.
They live in windowless rooms
When you go to Rajendra Nagar or any coaching hub area, you will find that civil service candidates live as paying guests in small, windowless rooms, where common people would not like to live at all. But this dream growing in their eyes gives them relief that one day theirs will also come when they will become officers and live their favorite life, gives them strength to live there.
All have the same story
Whether it is Old Rajendra Nagar or Mukherjee Nagar, the script of many coaching centres in Delhi is almost the same. A civil service aspirant from UP, who has been living in a room on the ground floor in Rajendra Nagar for the past one and a half years, said, “Almost every landlord in Rajendra Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar has converted his house into a paying guest house.” A student studying in a coaching centre in Mukherjee Nagar said that the number of students is very high and space is very less, that is why the situation is like this, people from poor families have very few options to live here.
PG owners want money
He said, “To earn a lot of money, PG owners divide a large room into different parts with curtains. About 5-6 students live in such rooms.” Generally, in such situations, students think, “Bear it for now, once I get a job, there will be servants in the future.” Many civil service aspirants living in two coaching centres in the city say they live in windowless basements that get flooded every time there is heavy rain. They say the cost of such rooms is almost half that of rooms on the ground or upper floors.
More money to live on upper floors
“If someone wants to live on the ground or upper floors, he or she will have to spend at least Rs 25,000 to Rs 30,000 per month. Those living in basements have to pay around Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 per month. There is risk but money is saved,” said another civil service aspirant. After the death of three civil service aspirants due to flooding in the basement of a coaching institute in Old Rajendra Nagar, the students said they were risking their lives by living in such basements. Despite this, they glorify their struggle.
PGs and classrooms in same condition
“It is the allure of civil services that such problems are overlooked,” said a student. Not only are PGs crowded, but classrooms are in the same state. Despite lack of proper facilities, the number of students keeps increasing. Even if there are 100 students in a classroom, the owners try to accommodate more than 120 to 125 students. “Those who are unable to sit or come to class are given recorded video material which they study sitting in the basement library,” said a student preparing for the civil services exam.
Renting out basements is illegal
Renting out basements as PGs is illegal, as the Master Plan of Delhi (MPD) 2021 allows such spaces to be used only for storage, parking and utility areas. Another IAS aspirant from Assam said, “Suddenly the government has become strict, but it is only a matter of time because one incident happened. In reality, nothing will be implemented. The problem will remain the same. This situation is not limited to only Rajendra Nagar coaching institutes. Everyone’s problem is the same.”