Staying in Rajinder Nagar means paying, suffering, rue aspirants

AKSHAY (name changed), a 23-year-old civil service aspirant, lives in a cage-like accommodation in central Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area, which recently bore witness to the tragic death of three aspirants by drowning in the flooded basement of a coaching centre's building.

- UJWAL JAJALI

"We are charged exorbitantly for accommodation or libraries," says Akshay, who hails from Himachal Pradesh and has been living in Delhi for a year.

Another aspirant, who is protesting over the deaths, claims that the city, where they come to study and fulfil their dreams, has failed to provide even the basic amenities.

"We come from different parts of the country with the sole motive to crack the UPSC civil service examination and are forced to live in miserable conditions", the protestor, sitting outside the Rau's IAS coaching institute, says.

Over 5,000 coaching centers are located in areas such as Old Rajinder Nagar, Laxmi Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar, Kalu Sarai, Satya Niketan, South Extension, and Karol Bagh.