Rajendra Nagar deaths: MCD to set up four libraries in name of students

New Delhi: Delhi mayor Shelly Oberoi has said that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) will establish libraries in the name of the three students who lost their lives in the tragic incident on July 27. 
Oberoi said that the new libraries will be set up in the four areas with high concentration. 
“I have ordered officials to establish four libraries in the name of the deceased students at Rajendra Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar, Patel Nagar, and Ber Sarai. Nothing can fulfill the loss that Delhi feels, but we are trying to improve public reading spaces for students,” she said.
With the growing coaching industry and high demand for such spaces, thousands of libraries-cum-reading-rooms have cropped up across Delhi. Meanwhile, the public library system continues to remain in a decrepit state, and a large number of mini-libraries have closed down over the last decade.
Three students drowned in a waterlogged basement of Rau’s IAS Study Circle in Old Rajendra Nagar on July 27. 
Around 30 students were in the basement of the coaching centre when it started flooding around 6.45pm. The sliding gate of the institute was damaged after it was allegedly hit by a car, and within two minutes, the basement was filled with water. 
The basement was illegally being used as a library-cum-study-room, according to the MCD.
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The civic body has initiated a sealing drive in the wake of the drowning incident to close down the coaching centres, and libraries operating from the basements in Delhi, under which more than sixty units have been sealed shut over the last five days.
The mayor said that the MCD on Thursday sealed basements of 34 coaching centers operating illegally in West, Central, and Najafgarh zones.
“Sealing actions on Thursday were carried out in the basements of 23 coaching centers in the West zone, eight in the Central zone, and three in the Najafgarh zone. In the Central Zone, 14 coaching centers were issued notices, out of which six vacated the premises and eight were sealed,” she added.
Oberoi said that the MCD is issuing notices to coaching centers and property owners for misuse of property and violation of building bylaws.
Additionally, the MCD is conducting surveys to identify coaching centers and other properties violating regulations in basements across all zones. This action is part of a comprehensive effort to ensure compliance with safety regulations and prevent future incidents.