MCD admits fault for Rajendra Nagar waterlogging

NEW DELHI
The additional commissioner of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Tariq Thomas, on Wednesday, met students protesting near Rau’s IAS Study Circle in the morning and admitted the agency was at fault for waterlogging in the area, which subsequently degenerated into a sequence of events that led to the death of three students in a basement.
“It’s a failure for us as officers that this incident has happened… We should have done our duty better, there is no excuse… There are serious structural issues which need to be addressed,” Thomas said, after which students who were on hunger strike since Wednesday midnight agreed to have water.
A 25-member delegation of students then went to meet the MCD commissioner to share their short and long-term demands. Meanwhile, police removed most of the protesters from the spot, but protests continued for the fourth day as students were not happy with the outcome of the meeting with the MCD chief.
Avlokit Mishra, a 30-year-old aspirant who came from Bihar and was part of the delegation that went to meet the MCD commissioner, said that they had mixed feelings about the outcome of the meeting because “there were several assurances and we were patiently heard but no promises.”
“We demanded action on the waterlogging issue and they said that work was in process, but no time frame was given. We shared about the issue of loose wires in the area and were told that they’ll work on it, but no solution was talked about. We were assured that regular food inspections will take place and that they’ll look into the nexus of brokers. They also assured that they’ll look for a space for a public library here,” Mishra said.
“Everything that happened in the meeting was verbal and once the issue dies down, no one will be held accountable,” Sadhna Chaudhary, 24, who came from Mathura to Delhi last October, said.
MCD, in a release, said the commissioner met the delegation and assured to resolve students’ grievances.
Students eventually reconvened at the site by 3pm, but had to disperse due to rainfall and waterlogging in the evening.
Vaibhav Singh Chauhan, 26, a protestor, said: “Just after 30 minutes of rain, the entire street is filled with about two feet of water. Is this what the MCD has done in the past three days? It’s a joke. This is what we are fighting for.”
Classes remain suspended
Coaching centres in the area continued to suspend classes for the fourth day in a row and announced that the suspension will continue at least till August 3.
“Some smaller centres are running classes online and have opened one of their three-four centres for students who have to appear for the exams in September, but most are shut. It impacts our study schedule but at the moment, this movement is important,” Ankit Jaiswal, 23, who came from Jaipur, said.