One-month ultimatum: Delhi coaching centres must pass fire audits or face sealing
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Saturday issued a one-month deadline for all coaching institutes in the city to complete mandatory fire audits, install fire safety equipment, and comply with all prescribed safety measures. Failure to meet the deadline will result in strict action, including sealing of the institute, she warned.
“One month. That is the deadline. The number of coaching institutes in Delhi is not the issue; the safety and security of our children is. Any institute without a fire audit, mandatory safety equipment or prescribed safety measures will face strict action, including sealing, if it fails to comply within a month,” Ms. Gupta said.
The Chief Minister urged students to report unsafe coaching centres through messages, e-mail, or phone. “Every complaint will be acted upon. There will be no compromise on the safety of our children,” she added. Delhi has around 923 coaching centres.
On Thursday, Education Minister Ashish Sood announced that the Municipal Corporation of Delhi has been designated as the nodal agency to conduct fire audits and safety inspections of all coaching centres. The directives come days after a fire at a commercial building in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, killed 15 people, mostly students. Last month, at least five students died when a commercial building near Saket Metro Station collapsed.
