Satya Niketan building collapse in Delhi felt ‘like an earthquake’: Eyewitnesses flag 20-year-old PG, ‘congested lanes’

The Delhi building collapse in Satya Niketan left residents scrambling out of nearby homes, describing the impact as “like an earthquake”, only to discover that the five-storey PG accommodation had come crashing down. The building, known as “Hostel Daze”, was filled with students when it collapsed on Sunday.

Following the collapse, people in the congested neighbourhood, home to several private student hostels, eateries and shops near Delhi University’s South Campus, began digging through the debris with their bare hands and whatever tools were available to them.

"We felt a slight tremor in our house. It felt like the ground shook, like an earthquake. We ran outside," a resident told PTI.

A local said the hostel was usually fully occupied. The narrow and “congested lanes” had also delayed the arrival of rescue vehicles at the site, the person added.

Priyanka, who said she had been living in the area for 20-22 years, told the news agency that buildings in the locality were increasingly being constructed up to five or six storeys. She said many houses had been converted into boys’ PGs, with property owners moving elsewhere while continuing to rent them out online.

She alleged that owners simply designated the properties as PGs, collected rent digitally and left them to be run without their supervision.

"The PG that collapsed is over 20 years old, and in all these years, I have not seen any maintenance work being carried out. The whole of Satya Niketan is full of PGs, and hardly 30 per cent of the house owners actually live here," she said.

"Even the gutters and sewers here are open. There were many students trapped inside the building. Since it was raining, most of them were in their rooms, while some had gone home as it was the weekend," Priyanka further said.

Another resident said the buildings in the area were quite old and called for structural assessments of all such properties.

He claimed that five-storey buildings with basements had come up in the residential locality, raising questions over whether such constructions should have been allowed.

Locals said most students living in the area were from Kerala, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and attended colleges situated across the road.

Rescue operation at building collapse site

Repair work was being carried out in the basement of the building, which was being used as a paying guest (PG) accommodation, when the structure collapsed at around 1.30 pm, a senior officer said. Teams from the Delhi Police, NDRF, Delhi Fire Service and DDMA, along with fire tenders and CATS ambulances, rushed to the site and began rescue operations.

Two persons have been declared dead, as per officials. The Delhi Police said six people have been rescued and taken to hospitals, while search and rescue efforts were still underway.