In the wake of MCD's crackdown on illegal coaching centers in Old Rajinder area after the Delhi coaching center tragedy, UPSC aspirants have claimed that private libraries have doubled their fees.

Delhi Coaching Center Tragedy: Amid a crackdown by the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) on coaching centers operating in basements or using the premises as libraries, there are several privately owned licensed libraries in the old Rajinder Nagar area and its adjoining areas where coaching institutes are located. , has allegedly doubled their membership fees, adding to the woes of UPSC aspirants who are already paying hefty sums for coaching classes.

Many civil services aspirants have claimed that the fee hike by private libraries is a direct result of MCD's crackdown on coaching centers whose basements have been sealed by the civic body, following the death of three civil services aspirants at a coaching center in Old Rajinder Nagar last Saturday. The basement, illegally used as a library, flooded due to heavy rains.

“Earlier, library owners running libraries on the first or second floor used to charge Rs 2,000 to Rs 3,000 per month, but now that many libraries have closed down, they have doubled the fees knowing that students have no other option.” UPSC examinee Pankaj told news agency PTI.

Pankaj mentioned that most civil services aspirants stay in rented rooms during their UPSC coaching and need the library to study and prepare as their accommodation is very small and cramped.

“Students who will appear for the (UPSC) mains exam soon have nowhere to go as the rooms we live in are so small that we cannot study and we need a library,” said Pankaj.

Another student preparing for this year's UPSC mains exam said that libraries in nearby areas of Rajinder Nagar like Patel Nagar have also hiked their fees, asking students to pay Rs 4,000 to Rs 5,000 per month, double the amount. They charged earlier.

MCD is cracking down on illegal coaching centres

On Sunday, the MCD launched a drive against coaching centers in the Old Rajinder Nagar area, a coaching hub in central Delhi, sealing 13 illegal coaching centers that run classes in their basements or use the premises as libraries.

The action comes after three UPSC candidates died in a flooded basement at Rau's IAS Study Circle, a prominent coaching center in central Delhi's coaching hub.

On Monday, the MCD suspended one officer and suspended another and launched an anti-encroachment drive to remove illegal constructions covering storm drains that accumulate water in the Old Rajinder Nagar area, the civic body said.

The MCD on Monday launched a similar operation in north-west Delhi's coaching hub Mukherjee Nagar and sealed Drishti IAS – a premier IAS coaching institute – after it was found to have used the basement of the building as a classroom.

(with PTI input)