The coaching academy that organised the picnic during which eight students drowned at Diveagar beach had been operating in Maharashtra's Alandi for nearly two years without registration with the Alandi Municipal Council, civic officials said on Friday, as the administration moved to seal the premises and widen its inquiry.
Alandi Municipal Council Chief Officer Madhav Khandekar said the academy had not obtained permission from the civic body to conduct classes or run its business. The branch had been set up after a municipal survey of private tuition classes carried out around two years ago, and since it came up later, it was never registered with the council. Khandekar said sealing the academy was the immediate action, with further legal steps to follow through the police. The civic body is also examining whether the building that housed the academy had valid permissions, and officials will verify the rent agreement and related documents.
"We are gathering all the details," Khandekar said, adding that the administration had spent the intervening hours on rescue coordination, ambulances and communication with parents. A detailed inquiry into the premises will be held after the victims' last rites.
Council president Prashant Kurade said officials would issue notices to private educational institutes in Alandi to check compliance with government rules, and acknowledged that questions were being raised about why action had not come earlier. He said institutes operating without the required permissions would face action, and unauthorised buildings would be sealed. The council will also run a preliminary survey of other educational institutions in the town. Kurade said the council had earlier shut down 10 to 12 unauthorised Warkari educational institutions, while 169 such institutions are currently registered with the civic body.
The crackdown has raised questions about the future of the 40 to 50 students enrolled at the institute, which offered coaching for competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE. Officials plan to speak with parents and the institute's directors in the next two days about shifting the students to authorised coaching institutes and about possible fee refunds.
According to Alandi police, 42 students had travelled to Diveagar for the excursion. Eight boys entered the sea on Thursday afternoon and were swept into deeper water after apparently misjudging the depth and the strength of the current; police said some of them did not know how to swim. Teachers raised an alarm, and local residents and water-sports operators joined the rescue effort, but attempts to revive the students failed. The 34 surviving students returned to Alandi early on Friday morning and were handed over to their families at the police station.
The bodies of all eight students reached Alandi after post-mortem and other formalities in Raigad. Alandi observed a bandh on Friday as the town mourned. An Accidental Death Report has been registered at Diveagar Police Station, and officials said the academy's director had accompanied the students on the trip.
Sources: Alandi Diveagar Tragedy: Unregistered Academy Ran For Two Years, Civic Body Says — Free Press Journal | 8 Alandi Coaching Institute Students on Picnic Drown Near Diveagar Beach — The Times of India
Alandi Municipal Council Chief Officer Madhav Khandekar said the academy had not obtained permission from the civic body to conduct classes or run its business. The branch had been set up after a municipal survey of private tuition classes carried out around two years ago, and since it came up later, it was never registered with the council. Khandekar said sealing the academy was the immediate action, with further legal steps to follow through the police. The civic body is also examining whether the building that housed the academy had valid permissions, and officials will verify the rent agreement and related documents.
"We are gathering all the details," Khandekar said, adding that the administration had spent the intervening hours on rescue coordination, ambulances and communication with parents. A detailed inquiry into the premises will be held after the victims' last rites.
Council president Prashant Kurade said officials would issue notices to private educational institutes in Alandi to check compliance with government rules, and acknowledged that questions were being raised about why action had not come earlier. He said institutes operating without the required permissions would face action, and unauthorised buildings would be sealed. The council will also run a preliminary survey of other educational institutions in the town. Kurade said the council had earlier shut down 10 to 12 unauthorised Warkari educational institutions, while 169 such institutions are currently registered with the civic body.
The crackdown has raised questions about the future of the 40 to 50 students enrolled at the institute, which offered coaching for competitive examinations such as NEET and JEE. Officials plan to speak with parents and the institute's directors in the next two days about shifting the students to authorised coaching institutes and about possible fee refunds.
According to Alandi police, 42 students had travelled to Diveagar for the excursion. Eight boys entered the sea on Thursday afternoon and were swept into deeper water after apparently misjudging the depth and the strength of the current; police said some of them did not know how to swim. Teachers raised an alarm, and local residents and water-sports operators joined the rescue effort, but attempts to revive the students failed. The 34 surviving students returned to Alandi early on Friday morning and were handed over to their families at the police station.
The bodies of all eight students reached Alandi after post-mortem and other formalities in Raigad. Alandi observed a bandh on Friday as the town mourned. An Accidental Death Report has been registered at Diveagar Police Station, and officials said the academy's director had accompanied the students on the trip.
Sources: Alandi Diveagar Tragedy: Unregistered Academy Ran For Two Years, Civic Body Says — Free Press Journal | 8 Alandi Coaching Institute Students on Picnic Drown Near Diveagar Beach — The Times of India
