A women’s PG facility in Satya Niketan, located 300 metres from the five-storey structure that collapsed the previous day, on Monday asked all occupants to vacate their rooms immediately.

‘Sealing imminent’

A student said they were told that the hostel could be sealed any time and that the facility would operate only as long as supplies last.

Of the estimated 40 occupants, only 22 currently remain in the facility. The rest left for their hometowns soon after the incident, said a student.

“My parents just left after helping me with the admission and lodging. They are now worried and want to take me away. But it will take them two days to arrive by train. What will I do until then?” said Himanshi Aggarwal, who hails from Assam.

Air of uncertainty

Thousands of outstation students who paid rent and security deposits in advance at PG facilities in the south-west Delhi locality are facing uncertainty after Sunday’s incident, with the authorities announcing a sealing drive against unauthorised structures.

‘University apathetic’

“The college is still open. The administration has not shown any interest in understanding our situation. How will we attend classes if we go back to our hometowns?” added Ms. Aggarwal, a Maitreyi College student.

Prajakta, a first-year student, said, “We have not been given an exact date. The warden has only asked us to vacate rooms as soon as possible”.

‘Paid security, rent’

“I rented a ₹16,000 twin-occupancy room. I paid two months’ rent as a security deposit and the current month’s rent in advance. In all, I have already paid ₹48,000,” added Ms. Prajakta.

The women’s PG, which shares the name ‘Hostel Daze’ with the facility in the collapsed building, is also located in a five-storey structure.

There are four rooms on each floor except the ground floor, which has three. For now, students have packed their essential belongings and made arrangements to stay with friends or relatives.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the Congress on Monday (September 7) protested against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government over the building collapse in Satya Niketan that killed seven people. 

AAP staged a protest in Satya Niketan, demanding that the BJP government release a list of people who own paying guest (PG) accommodation in the area. 

AAP Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj questioned who was operating the “PG mafia”, why action was not being taken against illegal PGs and whether influential BJP leaders had financial interests in them. He asked how Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) engineers or police personnel could act against illegal PGs if powerful political figures were running them. 

Mr. Bharadwaj alleged that people on social media had, since Sunday, been claiming that several senior BJP leaders owned properties in the area. “The exploitation of students through expensive PG accommodations, and the MCD’s failure to act against it, is linked to the fact that influential leaders have invested heavily in properties there,” he said. 

He said suspending a single Commissioner or Deputy Commissioner would not solve the problem. “The names of influential BJP leaders whose money is invested here, resulting in the exploitation of students, must be made public,” he said. 

Mr. Bharadwaj also said the Central government must build hostels for students in the area. “Until hostels are constructed and allotted to students, the government should pay students’ PG fees. Only then will the government have an incentive to build hostels quickly, otherwise, it will not,” he said. 

‘Justice for victims’

Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav staged a sit-in at the site of the collapse, demanding justice for the injured and the families of those killed. 

Mr. Yadav alleged that corruption in the BJP-led system was responsible for the collapse. He questioned who had permitted repairs to be carried out in the basement of the 50-year-old, five-storey building without safety arrangements after the basement was flooded, and alleged administrative irresponsibility and corruption. 

“The Congress’s protest against the Rekha Gupta government will continue till strict action is taken against the culprits and justice is done to the injured and the families of the deceased students. Municipal Commissioner should resign taking responsibility for the collapse as repeat of such mishaps happen due to corruption in the MCD, from top to bottom,” Mr. Yadav said. 

Govt. responds

Responding to the Opposition’s allegations, Urban Development Minister Ashish Sood said, “We are concerned about the safety of the children and about fixing the rotten system that the ‘A-team’ and ‘B-team’ have built up within this administration over the last 27 years. The focus must be on what action needs to be taken.”

With suitcases rolling behind them and bags slung over their shoulders, students streamed out of the congested lanes of Satya Niketan late on Sunday (September 6, 2026) night, some still in the clothes they had slept in.

The collapse of a nearby PG building had left many too frightened to spend another night in the neighbourhood they had called home.

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For Anushriti, a native of Kanpur who had lived in Satya Niketan for nearly a year, the fear is still raw. She had left for a friend’s home in Moti Bagh with little more than the phone in her hand.

“I am in my night dress from the past 24 hours with just a phone in my hand. I am stranded now- can’t go to my hometown neither can I return to the PG,” she said.

She was sleeping during the day when the building collapsed nearby. The impact was so strong that her bed shook, and her first thought was that her own PG had given way.

“The building I lived in is very close to the building that collapsed. It doesn’t feel right,” she said. Her belongings remain on the fourth floor of her PG, but she has been too traumatised to return. “I just need to go back there to get my basic things and I am just mentally preparing.”

For many students, the decision to leave was taken within hours. Those who had families in other cities booked flights and left for home, while students whose relatives live in or around Delhi moved in with them. Others sought refuge with friends and seniors.

Pragya, who had shifted to Satya Niketan only a month ago and studies at Aryabhatta College, moved to her cousin’s home in Chirag Gali after the collapse. She had been in the same lane that morning to get breakfast, and later found herself overwhelmed by the sound of sirens and emergency vehicles.

“When I reached Chirag Gali, I just hugged my sister and cried for 15 minutes,” she said. Her parents, she added, panicked and asked her to find another PG.

“It doesn’t feel like you’re living. It’s just surviving,” said Pragya, who is from Jharkhand. “I will look for some other place now. I don’t want to go back there.”

For Unnayan, the fear followed him even after he returned briefly to his PG. He eventually left for his friend’s place in Ber Sarai at around 1 a.m., unable to convince himself that the building was safe.

“I went back to my PG in the night and I sat there and felt even this building would also go down. I decided to just leave,” he said. He could not sleep through the night.

The departures continued through the night as students, many carrying whatever they could gather quickly, made their way out of the densely packed neighbourhood.

Student representatives estimated that more than 100 students left for their hometowns or relatives’ homes.

For those who had nowhere else to go, temporary arrangements were made by fellow students and seniors. Students have been accommodated at places including Meena Bagh, while classrooms at Venkateshwara College and Aryabhatta College have been turned into temporary shelters, with mattresses laid out for students who have been displaced.

Many students said they did not want to return to their PGs until the Municipal Corporation of Delhi conducted safety checks and gave them some assurance that the buildings they were living in were safe.

While 12 people were located and rescued from the rubble after the Satya Niketan building collapse, a search continued till late on Sunday night for several others whose whereabouts remained unknown, with friends and families awaiting information. 

Students across Delhi University (DU) shared names and photographs and made calls to trace missing friends. Sagar of Motilal Nehru College sought help tracing two friends who lived in the collapsed paying guest (PG) accommodation. 

Students from nearby colleges also joined rescue efforts, helping remove bricks and debris before heavy machinery arrived. They later formed a human chain with the police to clear the road for earthmovers. 

At Durgabai Deshmukh South Campus Metro station, around 400 metres from the collapse site, Saavy, DU president of the All India Students’ Association, scrolled through WhatsApp messages about missing students. 

‘Sharing names, photos’

“We have already received eight such requests. People are calling and sending photographs and names of people who are missing. We have been receiving these messages on our helpline numbers,” she said. 

One message read, “He is my friend who lives in the PG that collapsed. His phone is switched off, and I have no information about him… please, if anyone gets any information about him, kindly message me.” 

Students video-called friends, asking them to search the rubble and surrounding areas and sharing photographs to help trace those missing. Requests came from families unable to contact loved ones. 

Conflicting information was circulating about Yuvraj, with college authorities saying he was safe with his family in Madhya Pradesh, while others claimed he had died. 

“We are trying to contact Yuvraj,” said Unnayan, another student involved in the efforts. 

Aditya and Pawan Kumar were among the other names being circulated. 

Those seeking information were asked to contact Nirali at 9974945558, Saavy at 9871751355 or Arpit at 8887731669. 

Student volunteers from nearby colleges were among the first to reach the site of the five-storey building collapse in Satya Niketan on Sunday afternoon, clearing debris and helping make way for rescue machinery, according to locals. 

“The NSUI students were the first ones to reach. I saw them working very aggressively, removing debris with their bare hands, carrying huge blocks of cement,” said Mahender Singh, a resident who runs a sports products company. 

“I first heard a massive sound but ignored it, thinking someone must have had loud music on. But then someone said a building had collapsed and I rushed to the site,” he added. 

Around 2.30 p.m., personnel from the Delhi Fire Service and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had begun rescue operations, but earthmovers had yet to reach the site and the public was still gathered in the area, residents said. The call about the collapse had been made around 1.30 p.m. 

Student volunteers and police personnel dispersed the crowd and formed a human chain along the road to make way for the earthmovers. Before the machines arrived, the volunteers removed chunks of brick, mud and stone, along with damaged vehicles, from the area. They also opened access to a nearby MCD park so that debris could be dumped there. 

One student climbed onto an earthmover and tied up dangling wires to clear its passage to the collapse site. 

A video showing a student trapped under the debris was also circulated among student groups. 

“A first-year B.Com. student, Aditya, from Atma Ram Sanatan Dharma (ARSD) College made a video of another student being trapped under the debris. While Aditya was safely rescued, the student seen trapped in the video could not be saved,” said Vansh Rajput, another student from the college. 

Students living in nearby paying guest (PG) accommodations and hostels were evacuated and provided food and shelter at Sri Venkateswara College and ARSD. 

Students were also evacuated from a girls’ PG adjacent to the collapsed building after it suffered structural damage. 

“My daughter lives in a nearby PG. She just finished her graduation from Venkateswara College. At the time of the collapse, I was just seconds away from the site. I rushed to my daughter’s PG,” said Jonali Boradas, who had come from Assam to visit her children. 

Mr. Singh also alleged that unauthorised construction was widespread in the area. “The entire area is full of illegal construction. The building had walls with just four inches thickness and no pillars for support. A year ago, another building had collapsed in the area,” he said. 

The collapse also prompted concerns over the safety and facilities available at private student accommodations in the area. 

Manish Sharma, national in-charge of the Indian Youth Congress, said, “As private student accommodations accumulate in the city, governments should look at what facilities they are providing to students. When we think of larger education reforms, these issues form part of it. What is it that we are offering the youth?”