NEW DELHI: In Delhi’s student hubs, finding a PG accommodation can mean squeezing through cramped lanes and narrow staircases in tightly-packed buildings.“PG available” signs compete with tangled wires and exposed meters. In some pockets, dug-up approach roads and poor ventilation add to the worry. Yet, students pay steep rents for small rooms simply to stay close to college and coaching centres.
Satya Niketan building collapse
The building collapse in Satya Niketan has renewed concerns over safety in the city’s student and coaching hubs, where many students depend on private accommodation.In areas like Laxmi Nagar and adjoining Shakarpur and West Angad Nagar, PGs and rented rooms have proliferated around coaching centres. Some buildings stand along narrow, uneven or excavated stretches, while overhead cables form a dense web between structures, at places almost obscuring their facades.“We stay here mainly because our coaching classes are close by. The lanes are congested and there are wires hanging everywhere, but what choice do we have? This is what fits my budget. If I look for a better or more spacious place, the rent goes up considerably, and as a student, I simply cannot afford that,” said Anamika, a student living in Shakurpur.In several properties, rooms have been carved out of packed buildings, leaving little room for ventilation or movement. “A double-sharing room starts at Rs 10,000 and can go up to Rs 14,000,” said an employee at a PG facility in Laxmi Nagar. The lane outside was dug up, forcing students to navigate an uneven stretch.The worry is visible closer to North Campus too. In Mukherjee Nagar, another major hub for students and competitive exam aspirants, electric poles and walls are plastered with boards offering rooms, phone numbers to call and promises of “Hi-Fi” facilities.From the road, it is not always obvious which buildings are being used as PGs. The reality becomes clear only after going upstairs. At one such building, cracked walls, dim staircases, exposed wires and electricity meters greet one at the entrance.“The condition is bad at many PGs, including mine, especially for the rent we pay. It is Rs 10,000-15,000 per person in a double-sharing room. If there is an emergency, it would be very difficult to rescue people,” said Devyani, who lives in Mukherjee Nagar. “But we don’t have many options, given it is closer to the campus.”In Guru Mandi, Vijay Nagar, getting to some PGs is a squeeze in itself. Narrow lanes are packed tight with houses. At one place, a cramped staircase takes you past the landlord’s portion before another flight leads up to the PG rooms. There are no visible fire extinguishers, and barely any ventilation.Students alleged several residential buildings are being used as PGs or for commercial accommodation, raising questions about whether adequate fire safety and other measures are in place.“I pay Rs 16,000 for a room on double sharing. The room is so small. Thankfully, I have a balcony, but not all rooms have that. These are residential buildings but are being run commercially without the necessary permissions. That means safety measures are often missing,” said Sukriti.Amen, who lives in Vijay Nagar, said the condition of some buildings was “frightening”. “When I hit my wall, it feels like it is moving. It is really scary,” he said. For Yashi, the nearby pocket of Malka Ganj is “much worse”.Apart from the lack of basic safety clearances and measures, the narrow lanes raise a bigger worry — if something goes wrong, how quickly can students get out, and can emergency teams get in?The concern is not hypothetical. In 2023, a fire at a Mukherjee Nagar coaching centre trapped several students, who smashed windows and escaped using ropes, wires and pipes. In April, a transformer fire in Laxmi Nagar spread to a residential building, gutting 14 flats and forcing nearly 50 people to flee. Firefighters struggled to reach the site because of narrow, excavated roads.Across these student hubs, the issue goes beyond rent or room size. Thousands come to Delhi for college or coaching, but packed residential buildings, commercial PGs and congested lanes can turn even a small emergency into a serious safety risk.