Anjali Gopnarayan, a 24-year-old UPSC aspirant who committed suicide in her PG in Old Rajender Nagar last month, left a three-page note in which she wrote that there was “seemingly nothing but problems and challenges”, including the high rents of PG accommodation and hostels, which were unaffordable for many.

Anjali, the daughter of an assistant sub-inspector of Maharashtra Police, hails from Akola district of Maharashtra and had been preparing for the civil services exam in Delhi for the last two years. In her last letter, she spoke about her problems of failure in the UPSC exam, rising unemployment, alleged exam cheating and alleged “exploitation” of students by PG and hostel owners in Old Rajendra Nagar. She also wrote, “Despite medical help, my mental health has not improved.”

The mental stress and hardships that Anjali had to endure are a reality for many students in Delhi’s training centres – Old Rajendra Nagar and Karol Bagh. After the death of three students in the flood at Rau’s IAS training centre in Old Rajendra Nagar on July 27, there have been numerous demands for regulation of training institutes, PGs and hostels and for a legal rent cap.

Anjali’s father Anil Gopnarayan told News laundering that they had not filed a complaint, but “agents and landlords have taken extreme measures to exploit students from other cities. Although the lease was for 11 months, they increased the rent within six months. If the new rent is not paid, they ask the tenants to vacate the room so that they can receive a broker’s commission from a new tenant.”

One of Anjali’s classmates, who wished to remain anonymous, said, “The kind of psychological pressure Anjali was under is familiar to most students. The problem starts when we prepare for two or three years and then we are not accepted. We feel guilty about asking our parents for money and start minimizing our expenses. Anjali did the same.”

The UPSC candidate said that Anjali lived in a small room measuring 8 x 6 feet, which initially cost her Rs 15,500 per month. But about five days before her death, landlady Heena Bhatia increased the rent to Rs 18,000 and warned that those who could not pay should vacate the room. News laundering I approached Bhatia, but she refused to comment on the matter.

Students conduct survey, complain about rent increases and lack of maintenance of dormitories

Following the students’ outrage, the Delhi government announced plans to bring in regulations for tuition institutes and similar institutions and invited student representatives for a consultation on these new measures.

Raja, a student and coordinator of the Aspirant Reform Committee, said News laundering that a team of 10 student representatives will meet government officials to discuss rules for tuition centres. Another group of students will speak to the authorities about rules for PGs and hostels.

Two students – Shubham from Jharkhand and Portia from Himachal Pradesh – also conducted a survey of at least 400 students from Rajendra Nagar, Karol Bagh and Patel Nagar on the problems they face.

Shubham said, “There is no rent control here, landlords increase the rent whenever they want and if we do not agree, we are asked to vacate the room. Although the lease is for 11 months, landlords often increase it after just six months. Most of the time, they do not even give us back our security deposit, saying we are moving out too early.”

He further said that most students “have no choice but to leave the room or PG as there is no supervisory authority to receive our complaints”.

Portia claimed that most of the dorms and hostels do not carry out maintenance work, so students have to bear the maintenance costs themselves. “They (the dorm owners) do not consider us as human beings. We leave our homes to study here, but these people cannot even provide us with a conducive learning environment. If something goes wrong in the dorm, like a problem with the fan, the air conditioner or something in the kitchen, they refuse to take responsibility for fixing it. When we complain, they just tell us to either fix it ourselves or vacate the room.”

In particular, the rules of the Delhi Rent Control Act have been changed from time to time. But most students and landlords who are dealing with News laundering were allegedly unaware of its regulations.

Basement rooms without ventilation, deposit not refundable

During a visit to Patel Nagar, News laundering found several PGs operating in basements. Many of them had also converted small spaces under stairs into ‘rooms’. These 8×6 rooms do not have proper ventilation but the rent would still cost Rs 12,000 to Rs 15,000 per month.

Pragya Mishra, a native of Bihar who has been living in Old Rajendra Nagar for over two years, said her previous landlord “suddenly increased the rent from Rs 12,000 to Rs 18,000 and forced her to leave the room.” Unable to find another room for Rs 12,000, she moved into a “basement room” for which she paid one month’s rent as security deposit and Rs 8,000 as brokerage fee.

But after moving in, she found that the room was not well ventilated and was damp. She said it was “difficult to live or study there”. She then complained to the landlord and the agent and demanded the return of the deposit and the agent’s commission, but she “didn’t receive a single cent”.

But Pragya’s case was not an isolated one. In the survey of students, around 150 of them reported that their previous landlords had not even paid them back their deposit.

Archana from Jharkhand, who moved to Old Rajendra Nagar two months ago, said she had rented an 8×8 room basement room for sole occupancy for Rs 14,000 rent, plus Rs 22,000 for security deposit and brokerage fee. But in the wake of the recent protests, her PG sealed the basement rooms and shifted the students to the upper floors.

She said she was allotted a small double room for Rs 12,000 per person and when she protested, the landlord told her she could “either accept the new arrangement or vacate the room”.

She told News laundering: “It’s only been two months. How can I ask my family to send more money so that I can pay the broker’s fee for a new room again? So I’m staying here out of necessity.”

The students are now also demanding the abolition of the broker system and the establishment of an online portal for direct negotiations between landlords and students. News laundering Due to the students’ complaints, the company approached several realtors and landlords in Old Rajendra Nagar, but they refused to comment on the matter.

(Translated by Chandan Singh Rajput)

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