‘I can’t live with the fear of dying’: Students leave PGs in collapsed Delhi hostel locality

The lane where the hostel once stood has been cordoned off and is now almost deserted.

Nitish, 42, who runs a shop nearby, watched the appliances come down one after another. “ACs worth Rs 50,000 are being thrown like paper… Why are they throwing expensive things from the top floor? They could just bring them down and let people use them,” he said.

Students vacate their PGs in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Wednesday. (Photo by Afshana Ali)

“MCD officials are going around asking who lives where — whether it’s a PG, how many are staying inside, whether the floor itself is even legal,” added Sridharan.

Students leave locality

As the MCD action continued, students streamed out of their PGs. For many, the collapse has uprooted their lives.

Pranav, a third-year student at Aryabhatta College who lived in a PG two lanes away on Fourth Street, loaded blue polybags stuffed with his clothes, photo frames, black-and-white jholas lined with his books, and trolleys in an e-rickshaw. He was going to his aunt’s place in RK Puram.

He was paying a rent of Rs 30,000 at the PG.

“I am leaving Satya Niketan, I cannot live with the constant fear of dying. Last night, every time I heard a loud noise, I thought my building was going to fall. My aunt’s house is relatively sturdy and newly built.”

MCD officials conducted a door-to-door survey in Delhi’s Satya Niketan on Wednesday. (Express Photo by Gajendra Yadav)

He added, “I participated in a candle march yesterday in my college against the university’s silence and apathy on the incident. They do not have hostels to accommodate more than 2 lakh students enrolled at DU, and the hostel capacity is around 7,000. Who is responsible for this incident? Who is accountable, the MCD, the government, or the college authorities? Thousands of students are still living in these poorly constructed buildings.”

Aarti, a statistics student from Sri Venkateswara College, was going to pack her things and leave her PG. She paid Rs 21,000 for a single room, electricity not included.

“The building was so fragile, it felt like it would fall any day. I had applied for the hostel last month, and officials told me that I was on the waiting list,” she said.

“My parents want me to shift to Malviya Nagar now, so I’ve asked my PG owner for my deposit — Rs 52,000 rupees including the brokerage charge — back, but they’ve refused.”

Aarti said all her belongings were still in her room. I’ll pack as much as I can and leave. I will go to a friend’s place temporarily.”

Sridharan K, a student at Motilal Nehru College who lived two buildings away, was among those asked to leave. “MCD officials asked me to vacate my flat. I could only take one bag with my books and clothes. Most of my important things — my documents, clothes, washing machine, toaster— are still up there,” he said.

“We were told our things would be handed back to us. But I heard they’re throwing appliances and belongings off the rooftop instead.”