"Water took 50 seconds....," Educator Vikas Divyakirti narrates last-minute details that made students trapped in Delhi coaching basement

New Delhi [India], July 31 : Dr. Vikas Divyakirti, founder and MD of Drishti IAS, who came under fire and witnessed a backlash on social media after the Delhi coaching incident, broke his silence and explained how the tragic incident happened on that fateful day.
In an exclusive interview with ANI, Divyakirti explained how the water breached the gates of the basement and why the students got trapped and were not able to rush out after seeing water gushing into the basement.
"If you see the video of that day, the road is filled with water and the level of the basement is not much higher than the road. It can be sensed that if water splashes, it will breach the gates of the basement. Meanwhile, a jeep passes over the area. And today I got to know that by putting up a panel, the water has been stopped from entering the basement. And as the jeep passed, water splashed; it broke the panel and water started entering into the basement."
"Still, we have confusion about how water can enter so rapidly into the basement and if there were 30 to 40 students inside, they could have tried to get out after seeing water rushing into the basement," he added.
Further pointing out the reason that made students trapped inside the basement, Divyakirti held the biometric system installed in the gates responsible.
"One of the reasons is the biometric system, because of which the gates got locked. Apart from this, some students told me today that water is gushing inside at a specific speed and it was predictable that students would be able to get out. Meanwhile, as the students were coming, an area where an exhaust fan was installed also got busted and as it got busted, a splash of water with full intensity gushed into the basement," said Divyakirti
"With the student's testimony, I was able to understand that water hardly took 50 seconds to scale from the torso region to the head. This time was so short that none of us could make a decision and rush out of the basement, added Divyakirti.
Sharing the statement made by Delhi LG VK Saxena during a meeting held in regard to the coaching incident, Divyakirti said, "Today, LG sir also told that the sewer lines in the area were covered because of illegal construction and encroachment."
"In my opinion, if the basement could have been more in height, then the incident might have been averted, but today I got to know that because of some new rules, the basement can't be made higher than 8 cm, he added further.
Taking responsibility Divyakirti said he is all ready to play his part and made it clear that he is going to stick with the rules and regulations of building law even if they have to leave Delhi.
"With all this, I acknowledge that coaching institutes have a big responsibility. To rectify this, it is the responsibility of every institute. And I am fully ready to take full responsibility for my side. Today in front of you, I am making it very clear that at any cost, we will not do anything that is not allowed in Delhi whether we have to leave Delhi or go outside," said Divyakirti.
The three civil service aspirants died after a basement library at Rau's IAS campus was flooded during heavy rain on Saturday night, reportedly causing damage to the dingle biometric entry and exit point.