BHUBANESWAR: The recent coaching centre tragedy in the national capital where three students died in a flooded basement has brought to focus the condition of such institutes in the country.
However, while states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have already issued orders for inspection of coaching classes following the Delhi mishap, Odisha government continues to remain silent on the matter.
Hundreds of coaching centres are operating in the Bhubaneshwar and other urban areas including Cuttack, Berhampur, Rourkela, Sambalpur and Jeypore but a significant chunk of them do not have basic facilities and safety measures.
At least 50 students of a coaching centre in Tomando area of Bhubaneswar had a narrow escape after a fire broke out in the institute due to an electric short-circuit in November last year. It took nearly an hour for the fire teams to douse the flames on the fourth floor of the building.
Similarly, assets worth lakhs of rupees had gutted following a major fire mishap at a coaching centre at Acharya Vihar in August 2018. No one was injured in the mishap. While such incidents have put a question mark on the functioning of coaching centres, nothing tangible has been done by the government to enforce norms and ensure safety of the thousands of children studying in them.
A senior fire safety official said following the Surat coaching centre fire incident in May 2019, coaching institutes were inspected in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. However, hardly 20 to 25 centres could be inspected in each of these two cities as data on the exact number of institutes in the Twin City wasn’t available. “Many coaching centres still do not have fire safety certificate. In the absence of information on number of coaching centres, our enforcement has also been inadequate,” the officer admitted.
Apart from poor compliance to fire safety, dozens of coaching centres in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack do not have adequate space and students in large numbers can be found cramped into small rooms for their classes. Students in many classes even sit on the floor.
“With no standard fixed for size of room a coaching centre needs for a strength of 50, 100 or more students, the small passage to enter and exit from the classes may even lead to a stampede-like situation in the event of any mishap,” said an official.
Dilip Sahoo, a resident from Khandagiri, whose son is in Class XI and attending classes at a nearby coaching centre, said, authorities in Bhubaneswar and other cities and towns where urban flooding is regular during monsoon, should also find out whether any coaching centre is being run on the basement or ground floor of any building in localities vulnerable to waterlogging.
Founder of city-based Bidyasagar Classes Pradeep Mahapatra said, “Provision of fire safety, well-ventilated classrooms, proper seating arrangement is a must for coaching. Institutes, especially those enrolling a large number of students, should also ensure that they have proper plan for entry and exit.”
BMC commissioner Rajesh Pravakar Patil said they have planned a survey in which compliance to building plan and safety norms of establishments including coaching centres will be checked. The drive will start soon, he said.