Jaipur, June 24 -- Former chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday urged the state government to immediately reverse its decision to hand over Jaipur's Rs.500-crore Pratap Nagar coaching hub to IIT Jodhpur and instead, shift coaching institutes there, warning that millions of students attending classes in the city's Gopalpura Bypass area remain vulnerable to a major accident in the wake of Lucknow coaching centre fire that claimed 15 lives. In a letter to CM Bhajan Lal Sharma, Gehlot said the Lucknow tragedy underscored the urgent need to address safety concerns in Jaipur's coaching sector, where more than 100,000 visit coaching institutes daily. He alleged that several coaching centres continue to operate without adequate fire safety measures. Drawing parallels with previous incidents, Gehlot cited the deaths of three students in a basement flooding incident at a Delhi coaching institute in July 2024 and a gas leak at Jaipur's Utkarsh Coaching Centre in December 2024 that left 24 students unconscious. He said these incidents reflected a larger failure to ensure student safety in coaching facilities operating from unsuitable buildings. The former CM criticised the state government's decision to allot the Pratap Nagar coaching hub to IIT Jodhpur as an extension campus, arguing that the facility was originally conceived to provide a safe and organised environment for coaching students. Developed by the previous Congress government at a cost of about Rs.500 crore, the hub was designed to accommodate around 240 coaching institutes and equipped with fire safety systems, ventilation facilities, libraries, gymnasiums, yoga centres, food courts and large parking areas, he said. Gehlot claimed that nearly 140 coaching institute operators had deposited security amounts and booked spaces in the hub before the project was shelved. He termed the decision to repurpose the campus a setback for students and coaching operators who had invested in the project. He said the Gopalpura Bypass coaching belt falls within the Sanganer Assembly constituency represented by Chief Minister Sharma. He said any major mishap in the area would raise serious questions about the government's accountability. The former CM demanded that the government withdraw the IIT Jodhpur allotment, conduct an immediate safety audit of coaching centres across Jaipur, prepare a time-bound plan for shifting institutes to the coaching hub, and formulate a state-level Coaching Centre Safety Policy to prevent tragedies similar to those witnessed in Lucknow and Delhi. Gehlot said the Lucknow fire should serve as a warning and prompt immediate corrective action to safeguard students in Rajasthan....