New Delhi: A crowd gathered early afternoon in Satya Niketan market Monday, uncertainty looming as a JCB tried digging through to the basement of the collapsed building. For students living in the PG adjacent to the fallen structure, shock has now given way to anxiety. A notice has been issued for the building’s demolition, but all their belongings are still inside.Sukriti Singh, who left everything except her phone inside the PG, said she hasn’t been allowed to pack up her things. “My room started shaking when the building fell. Everyone rushed out and ran as far as possible. All I had on me were the clothes I’m wearing and my phone,” she said.Property No. 13 in Satya Niketan, where Sukriti has been living for the past two years, is to be demolished within three days, as per an MCD notice. The building, the order said, was occupied and in a “ruinous and dangerous condition” that threatened residents, visitors and passersby.Meanwhile, the search for missing persons continued Monday. Friends of Atharv Rawat reached the spot and told authorities he had not been found since the building collapsed. A woman said her son, Ayaan, was rescued and was taken to the hospital with grievous injuries.With rescue operations entering the second day, authorities used hydraulic cranes, JCBs, cutters and hammers to find the remaining students who were trapped. Sniffer dogs were also pressed into service Sunday night. Officials later confirmed the rescue operations were over.In most buildings in the neighbourhood, cracked plaster, seepage and faded paint don the walls. The narrow lanes are damp, with just enough room for one person to walk by. The structures follow a pattern: each looks dilapidated, has three-four floors with shops on the ground floor and people living on the upper floors.Students said a bed in a PG in the area cost upwards of Rs 13,000 but come with cramped walls, zero ventilation and no emergency exits. “Owners charge one month worth of security and bind you with an 11-month agreement. If you leave before that, you lose the security amount,” said Nishant Singh, a student.Residents claimed the PG that collapsed was one of the costliest in the neighbourhood. Bhavyam Jain, who had thought of living in the same PG, said, “It looked beautiful from the outside. Who knew they’d hidden its faulty construction under a thin layer of paint?”Students have started leaving the area following the incident. “I live a few metres away from where the PG collapsed. My parents have been worried sick about me. I will definitely be moving from here soon,” said Divya, a second-year student of Maitreyi College.Students and residents blamed the lack of hostels in DU colleges. “These buildings were constructed over 50 years ago. I have seen this place transform from having one-storey houses to the multi-storeyed hell-hole it is today. In order to accommodate students studying in nearby colleges and to earn money, people started adding floors to these structures, which are incapable of supporting so much weight,” said a resident who has lived in the neighbourhood for over 60 years.
