Take it or leave it: Across Delhi, they put lives on line to study
Students in Delhi are living in hazardous, cramped, and poorly ventilated PG accommodations to remain close to coaching centers. Recent building collapses have highlighted the severe safety risks posed by these unregulated living conditions.
Why it matters
It underscores the lack of affordable, safe housing for students in major Indian educational hubs and the failure of urban planning to keep pace with the coaching industry.
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.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.
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