Drishti IAS founder Vikas Divyakirti, who was attracting public ire after tragic death of IAS aspirants in Delhi’s Old Rajendra Nagar due to flooding in a coaching institute basement, broke his silence over the tragic incident. Divulging the reasons for the mishap, Divyakirti said one of the reasons students could not rapidly evacuate the inundated basement was the biometric system, because of which the gates get locked.

He said, citing the students he interacted with, the water took hardly 50 seconds to enter the basement and students failed to decide such a short span. Apart from the main entrance, water also streamed through the opening meant for the exhaust fan, he said.

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Citing LG VK Saxena’s statement, Divyakirti said the former attributed the incident to the encroachments and illegal constructions, which had covered the sewer lines in the area. He also said he was ready to play his part and would adhere to the norms henceforth.

Talking to news agency ANI, Drishti IAS also said he was committed to ensuring the safety and well-being of his students and the kind of efforts put in by him for the building safety norms would not be found anywhere else.

Addressing the criticism and ire of the public, Divyakirti said he was being targeted because everyone needs a scapegoat, which makes things easier for the administration. He also acknowledged the anger of students against him. "I feel all the anger is directed at me and I understand their frustration and I am grateful they believed I should have stood by them," he said while talking with ANI.

Divyakirti said there was no authority to regulate the coaching institutions. He also cited the lack of coordination among various agencies.

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"There is no authority to regulate coaching centres. There is for schools, colleges and universities, but not for coaching institutes. The central government has proposed a policy on it. As education comes under concurrent list, the Centre pushes state governments to make laws on it, although, states haven't taken a serious step in this regard, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan have taken some steps in this regard," he said.