‘I apologize to entire nation,' says Drishti IAS founder Dr Vikas Divyakirti

Dr Vikas Divyakirti, the Managing Director (MD) and Founder of Drishti IAS coaching institute opened up on the incident at the Delhi coaching center, where three UPSC aspirants died due to flooding in the basement. He said that he would not do anything that is not permitted in Delhi and would only work in approved buildings.

"Considering the recent incident that happened, I totally understand that it was carelessness. We never thought about it," said Dr Divyakirti.

"We do not take such buildings on rent that do not have fire exits, so that under no circumstances, the life of any child or staff is compromised. This is our intention. I made a mistake in understanding; I apologize to the entire country and the entire society that a mistake was made and that the mistake should not be repeated in the future" Dr Divyakirti said.

The tragedy occurred on July 27, when heavy rains flooded a library in the basement of Rau's IAS center, causing the single biometric access and exit point to fail, resulting in the three students' deaths.

The victims have been identified as Tanya Soni (25) from Telangana, Shreya Yadav (25) from Uttar Pradesh, and Nevin Dalvin (24) from Kerala, all Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirants.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has shut down 29 coaching institute basements since July 28, including Drishti IAS, Tathastu Institute of Civil Services, VajiRam and Ravi IAS hub, SriRam IAS Institute, and many more, for allegedly operating in contravention of the MCD building by-laws.

According to Dr Divyakirti, a divisional head rank officer has been recruited to oversee the building's safety, and a WhatsApp group has been established.

"We appointed a divisional head rank officer 1.5 years ago who only looked after the safety of the building. In January 2023, we created a WhatsApp group, and I am one of its members. The work of that group is to check 16 points: whether the doors are open, the fire exit is clear, there is no obstruction on it, and the roof doors are open so that in case of an emergency, students can be taken out, he said.

Additionally, he asserted that every building in Delhi that houses a coaching center has two exits or even more.

"These 16 points are checked daily. I would like you to get a chance if you can do a survey and go to any of our branches in Delhi or outside Delhi; if any building does not have at least 2 exits, then I am responsible," he added.

Furthermore, he claimed that they worked hard to develop safety standards and emphasized the fact that each coaching center had a fire safety exit.

“I am assuring you about it. And I wish to see that no coaching institute runs in the basement in New Delhi. And if it runs above the basement, then it should have a fire safety exit. I want to clarify one more thing. You may feel I am making a big claim. I am openly saying that with the kind of effort we put into the matter of building safety norms, I am sure that you will not find it anywhere," he said.

Dr Tanu Jain, the founder of Tathastu Institute of Civil Services, regarded the incident as heartbreaking, saying the loss of human life left her speechless.

"I could have been one of them; you could have been one of them. It is not just tragic, but it is heart-wrenching and the loss of human life makes me speechless," she wrote on X.

"I am a parent, and the pain of a parent losing a child is the worst kind of pain. I don't know what to say that can ease the pain; there are no words, she added.