LUCKNOW, June 27 -- The Aliganj fire tragedy in Lucknow has blown the lid off a regulatory crisis in Uttar Pradesh's booming coaching industry. Official data reveals that despite thousands of centres mushrooming across the state, only 3,267 are legally registered across all 75 districts. While Lucknow leads with just 226 registered institutes, educational powerhouses are operating largely in the shadows - with major hubs like Prayagraj recording a mere 93 registrations and Kanpur city just 37. In wake of this compliance gap, the district administration in Lucknow has directed the regional higher education office here to ensure that all big and small coaching institutes in the state capital register without further delay. "Official records show only 226 coaching institutes are registered in Lucknow under the coaching law, raising concerns over how many centres may be operating beyond official oversight. The issue has gained urgency in the aftermath of the Aliganj fire tragedy," said district magistrate Vishak G. A district administration official said many coaching institutes may not even be aware that they must register with the regional higher education office under the UP Regulation of Coaching Act, 2002. According to official data, 3,267 registered institutes are spread across the state and registered under the UP Regulation of Coaching Act, 2002. Data from the higher education department shows Lucknow has the highest number of registered coaching institutes at 226, followed by Saharanpur (213), Gonda (195), Shahjahanpur (163) and Agra and Bijnor with 126 each. The figures have also raised questions about compliance in cities regarded as coaching hubs. Prayagraj has only 93 registered institutes, while Kanpur city and Kanpur Dehat have 37 each, suggesting that many centres may be functioning without registration. A day after Lucknow's Aliganj fire on June 22, the Kanpur Development Authority (KDA) sealed more than 30 coaching institutes in the city's Kakadeo coaching hub following a crackdown on buildings operating in violation of fire safety and other regulatory norms. KDA secretary AK Pandey said special teams had been deployed to inspect buildings across Kakadeo, one of UP's largest coaching clusters. Even as the SIT probing the fire concluded that the commercial complex in Aliganj housed an animation centre, and not a coaching institute or library, the tragedy has renewed scrutiny of safety compliance and regulatory oversight in a sector that has expanded rapidly across the state. "All coaching institutes must be registered with the regional higher education office at the divisional level or with the DIoS.," said BL Sharma, director of higher education. Sharma clarified that the Aliganj facility was engaged in animation and computer-related work and therefore did not fall under the category of coaching institutes....