‘Everyone sympathises and forgets’: After Satya Niketan collapse, students ask who will fix unsafe PGs

“My parents called me worried when this incident happened. I just moved to Delhi for college and this situation has scared me. I hope we are safe,” a first-year student from Shri Venkateshwara College told Newslaundry, requesting anonymity.

A resident of Bihar, she lives in one of the many paying guest accommodations in Satya Niketan, a locality popular with Delhi University students. On Sunday afternoon, a five-storey PG known as Hostel Daze collapsed, trapping several people inside and triggering a frantic rescue operation.

Construction or repair work was underway on the ground floor of the building when it collapsed, according to eyewitnesses. Chaos and panic unfolded in the area as students, residents, police and rescue personnel rushed to the site.

Apart from PG residents, construction workers are also feared to be trapped in rubble. At the time of writing this report, 10 had been pulled out, of whom five are dead, according to the police. Those rescued were taken to the AIIMS Trauma Centre, where they were stated to be in critical condition, officials said.

The exact number of those still trapped remained unclear. Several news reports put the number at around 20 to 25, while residents in Satya Niketan claimed that at least 40 people may have been affected. Since the collapse took place on a Sunday, when many students would have been inside their rooms, residents feared the toll could rise.

The Delhi Fire Services received a call about the collapse at around 1.33 pm. Rescue teams reached the site around 1.50 pm and began search operations. Multiple Delhi Fire Services and NDRF teams, including search and rescue and breathing apparatus units, were deployed, along with water bowser units. 

Residents, including students, also rushed to the spot and helped with the initial rescue effort. In their first reactions, students living in the area called ambulances through quick-commerce platform Blinkit to the site. As per a paramedic with Blinkit ambulances, close to 17 ambulances were at the spot.

Students rush to rescue

As rescuers continued their work, students formed human chains to keep crowds away from the site and allow emergency personnel carrying bodies to reach ambulances.

Ritesh Rao, an NSUI member from Telangana who had come to Delhi for the DUSU elections, found himself among those helping with the rescue effort. “We could hear students who were calling for help when they were trapped. In fact, one of them sent a video to one of us stating their conditions. The people were trapped amongst heavy slabs which were hazardous,” he said. Several NSUI members were among those who reached the spot soon after the collapse. Vishesh Yadav, another NSUI member, said residents could hear people calling for help. “The police and rescue people were slightly delayed. We heard people who were shouting for help. Right now, our focus is that the rescue should happen fast,” he said.

Yogank Goyal, a student at PGDAV College who is contesting his college union elections as a member of the Student Reform Group, said students from the college were trying to ascertain whether one of their classmates was among those trapped.

“We got to know that a second-year B Com student from our college was trapped in this incident. When we inquired about him with the officials, they told us to check in AIIMS, as six people had been rescued. When we got the list from AIIMS, his name was not there,” he said.

Concerns over buildings, overcrowded PGs

For students living in Satya Niketan, Sunday’s collapse also raised questions about the condition of buildings and the safety of PG accommodations in the locality.

Lokesh Kumawat, a third-year student at Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, said the building had been in poor condition for a long time. “The building was in poor condition for a long time. It’s an old construction. Four-five police personnel from the Satya Niketan police booth were present there. The administration, ambulances and NDRF did arrive late,” he said.

“There have been similar incidents in the past as well. Last year, another building in our area collapsed, there were no casualties. Everyone gives sympathy and forgets,” he said.

He also raised concerns about Moti Gaon, an area near Satya Niketan that he described as particularly congested. “Should such an incident happen in Moti Gaon, it would be difficult for rescue teams to even reach there,” he said. Waterlogging is another major concern for residents, Kumawat said. “We are paying high rents and still such situations happen.”

Rahul, a student living in Satya Niketan, said students often pay high rents for cramped accommodation. “For double-sharing rooms, which are so small, we are paying high rents between Rs 12,000-15,000 as many colleges do not have hostels,” he said.

Mahendra, a first-year PhD student at Delhi University, said similar concerns exist around North Campus. “I live in the Christian Colony near North Campus where the area is extremely congested. It won’t be a surprising thing that such mishaps happen there. It is the university’s responsibility to provide safe hostels to its students,” he said.

Students living in and around Satya Niketan told Newslaundry that PG accommodations in the area often house a large number of students in relatively small spaces. According to their accounts, a floor in some PGs can have four rooms with around 10 beds in total. Students said Hostel Daze had a similar arrangement. 

Residents and personnel at the site also raised concerns about the structural condition of buildings adjoining the collapsed structure. 

Police register FIR

Additional DCP South West Abhimanyu Poswal told the press that a First Information Report (FIR) had been registered and that police were trying to ascertain further details.

The building was owned by a Gurgaon resident named Hari Om and his brothers, Anand Bansal and Azad Bansal, owned different plots and buildings around the structure, the Indian Express reported.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concern over the collapse in a statement posted by the Prime Minister’s Office on X. “Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. Praying for the speedy recovery of the injured,” PM Modi said.

Home Minister Amit Shah cancelled his scheduled visit to Goa, where he was going to inaugurate a newly constructed BJP office. 

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the collapse site before going to AIIMS, where the injured were admitted. “Whoever is responsible for this, whether it is the building owner or an official, will not be spared,” she told reporters.

Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi also expressed concern over the incident and appealed to the NDRF, Delhi Fire Service and other rescue personnel to make every effort to reach those trapped and ensure that the injured received immediate medical treatment.

Not the first building collapse in the area

Satya Niketan has witnessed a similar building collapse before. In 2022, the terrace of a three-storey house undergoing renovation collapsed, killing two people and injuring several others. Six workers were trapped in the collapse.

The incident also comes amid other recent concerns over building safety in Delhi. In May 2026, a multi-storey commercial building collapsed in Saket. A fire at a hotel in Malviya Nagar also killed 22 people, including foreign nationals.

Newslaundry has reached out to the DFS and Delhi police officials to seek their response on the alleged delay in reaching the site and this report will be updated if a response is received.