Days after three IAS aspirants got drowned in a coaching institute's basement, which was flooded due to heavy rains, Mayor Somya Gurjar of Jaipur Greater Municipal Corporation has swung into action.
Mayor Somya Gurjar came down heavily on coaching institute being oeperated from Gopalpura and sealed two of them for non availability of Fire NoC.
The coaching institutes – Kalam coaching and GuruKripa were being run without the mandatory fire NoC risking lives of hundreds of students.
Mayor Somya Gurjar went for surprise check on coaching institutes and asked for fire safety equipment and fire NoC from these two institutes. When they failed to produce the required documents and equipment, Gurjar directed officials to seal the buildings.
Mayor, while inspecting the premises of coaching institutes interacted the students. She told students to ensure safety before taking admissions in these institutes.
Mayor told students to register complaints with Municipal Corporation if they find it risky to study in the institute.
“You must speak up and approach us if the institute doesn't ensure your safety. We will take immediate action,” she assured students.
Somya Gurjar forms committee to monitor fire safety at institutes.
Mayor Somya Gurjar informed that the Municipal Corporation has set up a special committee comprising deputy commissioner, zonal deputy commissioner, fire deputy commissioner and three technical officers, which would survey all the coaching institutes being run in Jaipur Greater.
“On the basis of the survey, we will send these institutes notices and seal their operation if need be,” she said.
According to an estimate around 200 coaching institutes are being run in residential and commercial areas in Jaipur Greater.
“We know that 95% of these institutes don't have the mandatory fire NoC. We will force them to get compliance done or they will have to face the music,” she said.
No takers for coaching hub
The state government has developed coaching hub dedicated for the coaching industry at Pratap Nagar. The Rs 319 crore project spread across 67,000 sq metre land, was developed by former IAS Pawan Arora, who is now running a media house.
Arora then as the commissioner of Rajasthan Housing Board (RHB) had envisaged the country's first coaching hub with all the necessary safety measures. The space allocated for coaching centers range from 500 sq ft to 6200 sq ft.
“The entire hub is safety compliant and under CCTV surveillance. We have ensure proper safety of students,” said a senior RHB official.
Despite having dedicated area for coaching centres, owners of coaching institutes still prefer to run their classes from commercial areas, which have easy access to and thick population.
“The government needs to tighten noose over this business. When it's has developed specific zone for coaching industry, classes should shift there,” the official said.
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