Four coaching hubs flagged as ‘severe’ fire hazards, top chains fail capacity tests

Raipur: Exposing a blatant disregard for student safety, a joint team comprising the Raipur Municipal Corporation (RMC) and the fire department flagged four prominent coaching centers as “severe” fire hazards during a two-day inspection drive.

Detailing the critical flaws, inspection records revealed that Acadza, RCC Academy, Abha Library, and Tuteja Academy lacked basic fire extinguishers, emergency exits, and proper ventilation. Operating without mandatory Fire NOCs, these four centers were placed in the “severe” red zone, with their cramped premises effectively posing a massive risk in the event of an emergency.The civic crackdown also exposed safety lapses in top-tier national coaching brands.

While Unacademy, Vidyapeeth, and Allen were found to have satisfactory primary exits and firefighting equipment, all three failed the crucial capacity and ventilation tests, indicating dangerously overcrowded classrooms.Furthermore, the inspection matrix explicitly flagged Unacademy for operating without a valid Fire NOC.The fire department issued formal notices to the non-compliant institutes, giving them a strict seven-day ultimatum to rectify the life-threatening flaws. The extensive safety audits, carried out across seven major educational institutes on June 23 and 24, were conducted under the supervision of Raipur Collector Dr Gaurav Kumar Singh and RMC Commissioner Sambit Mishra.As the regulatory drive moves forward, RMC zonal officers have been tasked with thoroughly probing the building permissions, Building Completion Certificates (BCC), and parking arrangements of these commercial setups.