Satya Niketan: building collapse exposes a student hub grappling with housing crisis

Hours after a five-storey building housing a boys’ hostel collapsed in Satya Niketan near Delhi University’s (DU) South Campus, killing two students, the spotlight has returned to a neighbourhood that has become one of the Capital’s largest hubs for outstation students. With its location on Ring Road, direct access to the South Campus metro station and proximity to several DU colleges, Satya Niketan has helped bridge the gap between the number of students and affordable housing.

Of the seven colleges around the South Campus, Shri Venkateswara College, Jesus and Mary College, Maitri College, ARSD College, Ram Lal Anand College, Motilal Nehru College and Aryabhatta College, only two have hostel facilities. Shri Venkateswara College has around 175 hostel seats, while Maitri College has just 27, leaving many students to rely on private paying guest (PG) accommodations in the neighbourhood.

Most of the colony’s original residents have moved away, giving way to matchbox-sized apartments converted into PG accommodations, not all of which comply with civic regulations. In the aftermath of the building collapse, civic authorities removed PG signboards across the neighbourhood as part of an enforcement drive.

Despite its crumbling infrastructure, students pay around ₹13,000 a month for a shared room with three meals a day in the colony’s narrow lanes lined with cafés, dhabas, gyms and coaching centres. By comparison, the annual cost of studying at a DU college ranges from ₹15,000 to ₹80,000, depending on the course and college.

A different sight

Sunny Gupta, who grew up in the colony, said 25 years ago there were only a handful of PG accommodations and a few commercial establishments.

“It was mostly a residential area. Due to the nearby colleges and the lack of hostels on college campuses, residential houses gradually gave way to PG accommodations, along with cafés and commercial establishments. Only a handful of the original residents continue to live in the area,” he said.

The building collapse, however, has brought renewed attention to how the colony has transformed amid the student housing crisis.

Students said that high demand allows PG owners to pack tenants into cramped rooms with little or no ventilation. “PG owners have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude because they know there is huge demand. They raise prices on a whim because they know no bed will go empty. In some rooms, the beds are placed inches apart,” said Gitika Jha, an outstation student.

According to preliminary reports, construction work was under way in the basement of the building that collapsed to expand its capacity. “Every year, a new batch of students comes to DU looking for a place close to college. They are new to the city, and Satya Niketan lures them with its convenience. Most girls move out in their second year once they know the city better and factor in travel time to college,” said Prachi Goyal, who spent two years in a PG near the collapsed building.