New Delhi, Sept. 10 -- On a humid September morning, 17-year-old Shreya Thakur wakes up on the rooftop of a six-storey building in North Delhi's Gurmandi, barely 3km from Delhi University's North Campus.

Two makeshift rooms have been carved out on the terrace. They are not made of brick and mortar but aluminium partitions - a weak attempt to avoid running afoul of building regulations.

The room Thakur occupies is 12-feet wide and 17-feet long. She shares it with two other girls. Their three beds squished together, not even six inches between them. The only walking space is at the foot of the beds, where boxes of belongings, tiny study tables and plastic drums filled with snacks leave little room to move. Each of them pays Rs.13,000 for ...