GHMC on Friday expanded its drive against coaching institutes lacking fire safety measures, to areas beyond Ameerpet.
The institutes shut down in the latest drive were located on stretches of Mehdipatnam to Gachibowli, Kukatpally to KPHB colony, and Ashok Nagar to RTC Cross Roads, and to Himayatnagar, Narayanguda and Basheerbagh from there.
Though it was initially scheduled to close down a total of 114 institutes, by evening, the Enforcement and Vigilance teams could lock and seal 102 on the three stretches.
On Thursday, the teams had conducted the drive in Ameerpet, sealing 20 institutes.
Students worried
Students who were sent out from the institutes during the drive complained that they did not have any clue about the violations, and were worried about their courses remaining incomplete. Each student paid anywhere between ₹8,000 and ₹20,000 for various courses, pertaining to civil services, software, computer and foreign languages, among others.
Quite a few are working professionals, who joined for upgrading their technical skills by learning new applications. “I paid ₹10,000 for a 45-day crash course just about a fortnight ago. Even if I had the slightest inkling about the notices, I would not have joined,” lamented Ch.Vaneesh, a student.
Some others said the corporation should have pasted the notices on the main entrances of the institutes and on the buildings hosting them, so that the students would have been alerted.
Director of the Enforcement, Vigilance and Disaster Management Viswajit Kampati, however, assured that the situation created by the shut down of the institutes is temporary. “Many institutes are approaching us already, expressing willingness to comply with fire regulations. Once they fall in line, we will allow them to function as usual,” he said.
The drive was followed by an inspection by GHMC Commissioner M. Dana Kishore in Ameerpet early in June, when many of the institutes were found to be lacking fire safety measures.
In view of the recent fire accident at a coaching centre of Surat which killed 22 persons, all the institutes were given notices asking them to install fire safety equipment. As only a few complied with the orders, a drive has been taken up to shut them down.
