90% coaching centres in Karnal without NOCs

Parveen Arora

Learning no lessons from the fire incident at a coaching centre in Surat that led to the death of over 20 students, such institutions in Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar’s constituency seem to be waiting for a similar disaster to happen. Around 90 per cent of coaching centres in Karnal city are running without a no-objection certificate (NOC). Moreover, most of them do not have proper fire safety arrangements in place, if faced with such an incident. 

However, days after the Surat mishap, the Fire Department woke up from slumber and conducted an audit of coaching centres in Karnal city. They found that most of them were situated in multi-storey buildings, with no emergency door, a single narrow entry and exit point from stairs for more than two coaching centres, classrooms in temporary cabins made of wood or other material and the number of students exceeding the capacity.

Also, wires were hanging loosely overhead, posing a serious threat to the lives of students as well as coaching staff. Several institutes were running classes from basements and have been asked to close down.

The department has issued notices to around 30 coaching centres in two days while the inspection of remaining centres is under way. The local civic body does not have any data of coaching centres in the city, but as per an estimate, the number can be more than 200.

“We started inspecting the centres on May 28. We found a majority of them violating norms and running without proper fire arrangements,”  says Rampal, Fire Station Officer.

He says that 90 per cent of the coaching centres have not taken NOCs from the Fire Department, while several are based in basements. “We have asked the coaching centres running in basements to close down and also directed others to follow fire safety regulations within 15 days, or their premises will be sealed,” he adds.

Dheeraj Kumar, EO, Karnal Municipal Corporation, says that after the Surat incident, they have directed the Fire Station Officer to ensure compliance of fire safety norms in every coaching centre of Karnal city.