Basements of Aakash, FIITJEE in Noida sealed, 51 other coaching centres to be checked

The basements of Aakash Institute and FIITJEE were sealed at around 11 am, following an inspection.

DIOS Dharmaveer Singh said some institutes had been operating without registration. “Career Launcher had been operating without registration. So a day’s time was given to the institute to follow all the necessary requirements. Unacademy had submitted the application for registration but had not paid the application fees and had been operating without permission,” he said.

Noida Chief Fire Officer Pradeep Kumar said the inspections would continue on Wednesday and that 51 institutes would be checked. On Aakash and FIITJEE, the two that had their basements sealed, he said the institutes were using their basements as seminar halls and offices.

“The sealing drive is a follow up of Delhi’s incident,” said Noida Authority Chief Executive Officer M Lokesh. He said a committee constituted by the Authority would conduct checks on institutes and under construction buildings in Noida.

Saying that extra caution must be exercised with regard to infrastructure in the rainy season, Lokesh said, “I have also asked the District Magistrate to form a committee to check these premises.”

Ramesh Baltish, head of FIITJEE, Noida, said the sealed basement was “mostly used to store study materials”.

Representatives of other coaching institutes facing action could not be reached for a response despite several attempts.