Civic apathy leads to 3 talented lives cut short

Sudden flooding triggered by heavy downpour in the national capital claimed the lives of 21-year-old Tanya Soni, 25-year-old Shreya Yadav, and 29-year-old Nevin Delvin as they drowned in the floodwater in the underground library of Rau’s IAS Study Circle coaching centre in Old Rajendra Nagar on July 27.
Their bodies were recovered after disaster response teams and firefighters pumped out water from the basement, but not after hours of waiting for the waterlogging outside to recede.
Shreya Yadav, 25
She had come to Delhi in April and took admission in this institute in May, his uncle Dharmendra Yadav, 43, a resident of Noida, said.
She had completed her bachelor’s in science from a university in Uttar Pradesh and then decided to study for civil services. “She was a bright student. There was no pressure from us but we were hopeful that she’ll be able to crack it,” he said.
Yadav said that he was watching the news around 12am on Sunday when he got to know about the incident. He left home and reached Rajendra Nagar outside the institute where he asked for Shreya but got no news. He then went to her paying guest accommodation where he didn’t her either. “I came back here and asked about her again. They told me to check at the mortuary. I came here and found her name among the three dead,” Yadav said at Ram Manohar Lohia hospital’s mortuary.
Yadav said that his brother Rajendra Yadav is a farmer and sister-in-law Shanti is a homemaker. “They are not able to come to terms with what happened,” he said.
Shreya’s brother Abhishek Yadav, back in Ambedkar Nagar, said she was also pursuing post-graduation in mass communication from a university in Haryana.
“We last spoke to Didi (Shreya) over the phone on the night of July 26 and she had promised to visit the village on Rakshabandhan on August 19,” he said.
Yadav demanded strict punishment for the institute owner and said, “This is a clear case of negligence. What measures did they take if flooding was so common around here?” he said.
Shreya is survived by her parents and two bothers.
Tanya Soni, 21
Soni’s family is shattered by the news of the death of 21-year-old UPSC aspirant.
While she hailed from Masjid Gali, Nabinagar town in Aurangabad, her family stays in Secunderabad , Telangana. Tanya’a father, Vijay Soni, is an engineer who stays with his wife and two other children , Palak Soni and Aditya Soni in Secunderabad. Palak was the eldest child , family members said.
“ I am shell shocked by the news of Tanya’s death. I still cannot believe it. She was a meritorious student who had dreams of becoming an IAS or IPS officer. We all had high hopes from her and were condident Tanya would crack the UPSC examination. It’s a big loss for our family,” said Ajay Soni, who is elder uncle of the deceased. Ajay told reporters that he got the news in the morning and her father is also in a state of shock.
Tanya , who was called by nicknane’ Tanu’, has a grand father, Gopal Prasad Soni, who is distraught by the news of the death of his grand daughter.
The deceased elder uncle further informed that Tanya had done her BSc from Hyderabad and had been staying in New Delhi for one -and -a -half years for coaching. “ Tanya was always good in studies and her siblings, Palak Soni and Aditya Soni, used to be inspired from their eldest sister,” recalled Ajay Soni. Soni said those reponsible for the flooding and runing the coaching by flouting norms should be strictly punished.
Other family members of the deceased were inconsolable, too. “ We had hoped that Tanya would change the fortune of our family and become a civil servant. Now, it’s all over,” said , another family menber.
Nevin Delvin, 29
Delvin was a native of Kerala’s Ernakulum and came to Delhi around eight years ago for education. A PhD scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delvin had also completed his MPhil from the varsity.
Delvin’s friend Vijith said that the deceased was a student of Department of Arts and Aesthetics and was pursuing his PhD in visual arts. “He was a very promising academic but we had no idea he was preparing for civil services,” he said.
According to Toni, member of Delhi Malayali Association, who was present at the mortuary, Delvin’s mother Lancelete is a retired professor from a university in Kerala and his father Delvin Suresh retired from Kerala Police as deputy superintendent.
“We have spoken to his parents. They are in utter shock. They will coming to Delhi on Sunday night,” he said.
A faculty member at the institute said that Delvin had taken coaching in 2022 and used to come now only for study material and self-preparation.