&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "'High rent, no light': DU students expose grim reality of Delhi PGs; alumni bat for hostel | Ground report")
A building in India's national capital's Satya Niketan collapsed this week claiming at least seven lives, including five students. The building was a boys' paying guest (PG) accommodation, known as 'Hostel Daze' in Satya Niketan -- that is home to several Delhi University's South Campus colleges. At least six others were critically injured and hospitalised. While National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and local emergency agencies called off the intensive 27-hour search and rescue mission, many say that the toll might be more than what the official data states. The incident has brought into focus the glaring irregularities in the accommodation facilities across Delhi. Delhi government has ordered extensive PG audits and the Supreme Court of India has also called for a time-bound safety audit of all private hostels and student accommodations across Delhi. Students and alumni from DU say this is a classic case of too little, too late — coming only after tragedy strikes.
What students told WION?
Speaking to WION, Kritika from Sri Venkateswara College, who lives in a PG in Satya Niketan, recalled the panic and disbelief that followed the building collapse. She said she was inside her PG - which is a few metres away from the collapse site. “I was in full shock. A five-floor building that used to look so decent from the outside had completely collapsed. I wasn’t ready to accept that,” she said. Kritika said she rushed outside and headed towards the site, where she saw students and local residents trying to clear the debris. She claimed there were no JCB machines, police personnel or ambulances when she arrived, with rescue equipment and an ambulance reaching the site around an hour and a half later.
Recalling the aftermath, Kritika said, “Some of my friends went to their relatives' place or friend's place. I remember one of my friends was shivering as she heard voices of those students crying for help. Many parents called their children and asked them to return home.” Shedding light on the dire living condition in Satya Niketan, she said, "Living conditions in Satya Niketan are very, very bad for us outsiders — I would say they are among the worst. There is no healthy food, no clean water, and unnecessary price hikes on basic things like fruits, vegetables and stationery. Even basic necessities feel like a luxury here.”
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Another student Chandni Singh from Moti Lal Nehru College, who is from Lucknow, and stays in Satya, shared the woes of students while looking for an accommodation. “The worst thing about DU is lack of hostels. The biggest hassle for me when I came here two years ago was to find an accommodation that is livable and affordable and safe,” she told WION. She also claimed that PG owners often demand high security deposits and alleged that students have little recourse when disputes arise. Kritika also shared similar experience. She said a former PG owner from the same area refused to return her security deposit and instead demanded an additional ₹5,000 after she left some belongings in her friends' room in the same PG. Singh shared the rent breakup of her current stay. “I pay 12 thousand rent for a room shared by two students. So the owner gets 12 + 12 = 24 thousand for a small room. Basically I am paying for a bed. At the beginning I paid 12 thousand as security deposit too. Electricity expenses are separate, we have metres in our room but they charge us 14 Rs/unit,” she said.
Atirek Kumar, DU alumnus who studied at the university from 2018 to 2021 at Atma Ram Sanatan Dharam (ARSD) College, recalled his own experience of staying in the area. “I have stayed in a PG, including in Satya Niketan. The collapse of the building is unfortunate, but it is not something that is unimaginable. During my stay in Satya, I was always afraid of such a scenario. Sometimes the water supply would stop, and sometimes there would be mice. This was all in a room we paid ₹12,000 for. Moreover, the owner had no accountability, and yes, natural light was a luxury,” he said.
Not only Satya Niketan, similar issues across Delhi
Similar issues have been flagged by students living elsewhere in Delhi. Sauhadro Saha, who enrolled at Dyal Singh College this year, shared his experience about finding an accommodation. “I assumed DU would have a hostel. Much later, I discovered that hostel is never an option here. Only a few gets that luxury. I visited more than 10 PGs in Kotla and nearby places but not one seemed to be livable. PG owners warned that cost would skyrocket once the semester begins. It was like a gamble, one moment you consider a PG and by the time you take a decision, it is sold out. Many buildings in Kotla did not have proper water facilities, looked dingy and lacked natural light. Several rooms do not have a window and there are no lifts. At one point, I started reconsidering my decision to join a DU college,” he told WION.
Shubham Raj from Delhi School of Economics, who stays in GTB Nagar, had similar things to say. “In North Campus, PG rates are very, very high. If you are looking for a good PG that provides two meals a day, it can cost around ₹18,000–19,000 for double or even triple sharing. They also charge a security deposit, which is kind of a scam in itself because, in my four years of college, I have never seen PG owners return that security deposit to students,” he told WION.
Ananya Sinha, research scholar at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, highlighted the “helplessness” felt by parents during these situations. “Despite the money, despite the resources, despite everything that one can send their children with, to a different city, to live, to pursue what they want, nothing could be done. The systemic flaws are so deep and so so fractured. Education system is flawed, where you stay, flawed, the drinking water, flawed. So, it's just not a collapse of a building one can talk about, it is the collapse of the entire state system,” she said.
'DU should have hostels'
Students and alumni batted for hostel facilities in DU. Shraddha Singh, who studied in DU in 2014-2017 batch said that things have not changed in all these years. “The first thing that my parents flagged when I said I wanted to go to Delhi University for graduation was that it does not have a hostel. For outsiders, hostel facilities are a safe zone. No parents from small towns and cities away from Delhi, specially girl parents, want their children to be in PG or flat. But this is something DU administration does not understand,” Singh told WION. Raj echoed these concerns, pointing out that other universities such as JNU provide hostel facilities to almost all students, while Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) offers hostel accommodation to at least 20 per cent of its students. “The incident brings out incompetence of the university,” he said.
Pallavi Jha, DU student from 2016-2029 batch, suggested several measures to address the problems faced by students living in PGs. She said authorities should conduct proper inspections across the area, while Delhi University should expand hostel facilities. “Proper inspections of the entire area is needed but the most important thing is for DU to provide hostel facilities to the maximum number of students. A ban on unnecessary price hikes for basic necessities is also required and the security deposit system should be removed,” she said.
For Shraddha, the building collapse is a reminder that DU stands on corruption and cost of life in the national capital is worth nothing. For students like Kritika and Chandni, who continue to live in Satya Niketan, the fear is no longer something that can be ignored. “We will have to stay here despite witnessing death just in our neighbourhood and every day, we will face the impunity of the authorities. I don't think anything will change,” Chandni opined.
