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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 (वायु संचार). Getting in and out can be a challenge and being trapped (जाल, फंदा) is a real possibility as the water will find its way there first. Special pumping arrangements would be required to mitigate (कम करना) 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 (अनुमति, मंजूरी, प्रतिबंध) 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 (व्याख्या, अनुवाद) 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 (अनिवार्य) 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 (पसंद करना) 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 (फटना, विस्फोट करना) 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 (बेतरतीब, अव्यवस्थित) 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 (लचीलापन).

Courtesy: The Hindu

Important Word List With Meaning

1.Ventilation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - वायु संचार
English Meaning - The provision of fresh air to a room, building, or other space.

2.Trap (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - जाल, फंदा
English Meaning - A device or tactic used to catch or confine someone or something

3.Mitigate (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - कम करना
English Meaning - To make less severe, serious, or painful.

4.Sanction (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - अनुमति, मंजूरी, प्रतिबंध
English Meaning - A threatened penalty for disobeying a law or rule; official permission or approval.

5.Interpretation (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - व्याख्या, अनुवाद
English Meaning - The action of explaining the meaning of something

6.Inevitable (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - अनिवार्य
English Meaning - Certain to happen; unavoidable.

7.Prefer (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - पसंद करना
English Meaning - To like one thing or person better than another or others

8.Burst (Verb)

Hindi Meaning - फटना, विस्फोट करना
English Meaning - To break open or apart suddenly and violently, especially as a result of an impact or internal pressure.

9.Resilience (Noun)

Hindi Meaning - लचीलापन
English Meaning - The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

10.Haphazard (Adjective)

Hindi Meaning - बेतरतीब, अव्यवस्थित
English Meaning - Lacking any obvious principle of organization.