A few weeks ago, Tasmyir Nawab enrolled in a digital marketing course offered by an NGO at a community centre. However, for almost a month now, the computers the 20-year-old had been using on the premises have been rendered unusable without electricity. “We rely on computers for our studies and presentations. The lack of electricity has halted our studies, and the generator provided by the foundation is noisy and unreliable,” said Nawab.
Nawab’s predicament echoes that of several students studying at the centre operating out of Matia Mahal’s Shankar Gali in old Delhi.
The premises have been without electricity for over a month now, owing to a pending bill of Rs 31 lakh.
The building is owned by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), which leased the space to the Delhi Skill and Entrepreneurship University (DSEU)-affiliated Lighthouse Communities Foundation, the NGO, which offers skill development programmes to underprivileged youth.
The foundation argued that it had only been using the premises since October 10, 2023, and was not liable to pay the bill owed to the power distribution companies (discoms) by DUSIB; the latter, on the other hand, said they have no knowledge of the matter. “We operate in collaboration with the DSEU and have been using this community center since October last year. However, for the past month, there has been no electricity, causing numerous issues for our students,” said an official from the Lighthouse Foundation, the Matia Mahal Branch of which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal last year.
The foundation provides courses in office management, beauty and wellness, and stitching, with over 1,000 enrollments in the past year. Many students come from families with an annual income of less than ₹2 lakh, and half of them are women. “Our batch had just begun when the electricity connection stopped. The entire building was plunged into darkness, making it difficult for us to navigate our way out,” said 18-year-old Shivam Mishra, a student pursuing the foundation course.
Suniel Kumar Aledia, Executive Director of the Center for Holistic Development, an NGO in the vicinity, has urged Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena to intervene in the matter. “The students at DSEU are grappling with significant issues related to sanitation and access to drinking water due to the absence of electricity supply… Students are unable to attend classes regularly due to this…” the letter stated.
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While a portion of the community centre’s electricity supply was restored on April 10 after partial payment of the arrears, the section used by the Lighthouse Foundation remains without power. The foundation officials said they have been asked by DUSIB to contribute to the electricity bill, which they find unjustified.
“To restore our connection, the DUSIB is asking us to pay part of the electricity bill…we have seen the bill amount and it should not be more than a few thousand rupees per month for the whole building…it makes no sense as to why we should pay the electricity bill which now runs into lakhs,” an official of the Lighthouse Foundation said.
When contacted, DUSIB officials — CEO Manish Kumar Gupta and Principal Director PK Jha — claimed to be unaware of the matter, while discom officials stated that electricity was restored after the university made a partial payment. They attributed any ongoing issues to internal wiring problems and stressed that electricity supply to the community centre had been restored from their end.
The students, meanwhile, continue to function in darkness. “Due to the lack of fans, the rooms become extremely humid. Opening windows for ventilation would disrupt classes due to construction noise, and even monkeys would occasionally enter the classroom,” said 19-year-old Rifa Faruqui.
Saman Husain is a Correspondent at The Indian Express. Based in New Delhi, she is an emerging voice in political journalism, reporting on civic governance, elections, migration, and the social consequences of policy, with a focus on ground-reporting across Delhi-NCR and western Uttar Pradesh.
Professional Profile
Education:
She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science (Honours) from Kirori Mal College, University of Delhi, and is an alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai.
Core Beats:
Her reporting focuses on the national capital’s governance and politics. She specializes in Delhi’s civic administration and the city units of the BJP, AAP and Congress. In western Uttar Pradesh, she mostly reports on crime.
Specialization:
She has a keen interest in electoral processes and politics — her recent contributions include work on electoral roll revisions.
Recent Notable Articles (since July 2025)
Her recent work reflects a strong show-not-tell approach to storytelling, combining narrative reporting with political and historical context:
1. Politics:
“On the banks of the Yamuna, a political tussle for Purvanchali support” (October 6): A report on how migration histories shaped electoral strategies in Delhi before the Bihar elections.
“Explained: How Delhi’s natural drainage vanished gradually over the centuries” (September 29): An explanatory piece tracing the historical reasons that eventually led to the erosion of Delhi’s rivers and its impact on perrenial flooding.
2. Longforms
“Four weddings, three funerals: How a Uttar Pradesh man swindled insurance companies” (October 7): A long-read reconstructing a chilling fraud by a man who killed three of his family members, including both his parents for insurance proceeds. His fourth wife discovered his fraud…
“How Ghaziabad conman operated fake embassy of a country that doesn’t exist — for 9 years” (July 27) : A story on bizarre fraud operation and the institutional blind spots that enabled it.
3. Crime and Justice:
“He was 8 when his father was killed. Fifteen years later, in UP’s Shamli, he took revenge” (October 18): A deeply reported crime story tracing cycles of violence, memory and justice in rural Uttar Pradesh.
“Who killed 19 girls in Nithari? With the SC rejecting appeals, there are no answers and no closure” (July 31): A report capturing the long legal and emotional aftermath of one of India’s most chilling unsolved criminal cases.
4. Policy Impact
“At Manthan, over US tariffs, Delhi-NCR’s apparel industry brainstorms solutions” (September 8) and “Trump’s 50% tariff begins to bite: Agra’s leather belt feels the impact” (August 13) : Reports documenting how global trade decisions ripple through local industries, workers and exporters.
Signature Style
Saman is recognized for her grassroots storytelling. Her articles often focus on the "people behind the policy". She is particularly skilled at taking mundane administrative processes and turning them into compelling human narratives.
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