Human failure: On IAS aspirants and the accident in Delhi
The deaths of IAS aspirants in basement flooding were preventable
The tragic accident at an IAS coaching centre in New Delhi, where flooding led to three IAS aspirants dying, was a largely man-made, hence avoidable, disaster. Such incidents are an increasing feature of localised urban flooding in which human failures play a major role. Basements in buildings have limited access and often limited ventilation. Getting in and out can be a challenge and being trapped is a real possibility as the water will find its way there first. Special pumping arrangements would be required to mitigate flooding. In general, rules do not permit basements in buildings across the country to have habitation, while allowing storage, parking and utilities such as electric equipment and generators. Habitation would include offices and residents. Shops are sanctioned especially in malls or mixed-use buildings as they are seen as temporary habitation. A classroom or a study centre may well be considered habitation in such an interpretation of rules, which could mean classes or long hours of study should not be allowed in the basement. Building byelaws for Delhi (2016) consider the basement as a storage area but recognise mixed-use buildings that may use basements for other purposes. As India urbanises and land value and building value become increasingly expensive, it would be inevitable for buildings to be used for purposes other than mandated. In such mixed-use buildings, basements are also seen as income generators.
The Delhi Master Plan 2021 explicitly says that the use of a basement in coaching centres shall be subject to clearance from fire authorities and other statutory bodies as per the relevant laws. It is not known if the IAS coaching centre had the relevant permissions and if any changes made on basement use were notified to the authorities. In India, questions need to be asked whether a renewal of permits was done after inspections; users prefer not to notify the authorities since it causes hurdles and invites bribe demands. In what appears to be a case of poor civic infrastructure, a stormwater drain burst with the water entering the basement of the coaching centre. Big cities getting flooded has become routine and the flooding is as much due to natural topography as changes in land use and haphazard constructions. In 2015, for instance, in Chennai, flooding of basements damaged electric equipment in many buildings and disrupted businesses. It caused deaths in a hospital since the water damaged emergency power generators and lifesaving ICU equipment stopped functioning. Buildings can be made flood-resilient by ensuring that no water enters inside up to the one metre to 1.5 m level on the road. Concrete, non-porous compound walls, flood-barrier gates and non-return valves on plumbing lines can help achieve this resilience.