New Delhi, Sept. 7 -- Sunday, September 6, 2026, is etched as a dark day in the history of Delhi University. At around 1:30 PM, the catastrophic collapse of a five-storey private paying guest building known as "Hostel Daze" in Satya Niketan shattered the illusion of student safety. As rescue operations unfolded, a chilling video surfaced of a trapped victim pleading from the rubble, begging someone to save him. The tragedy claimed precious lives, left

multiple students injured, and triggered an unprecedented wave of grief and rage across campus.

For outstation aspirants, Satya Niketan's proximity to South Campus has long made it a crowded hub. Property owners have aggressively converted residential spaces into multi-storeyed commercial hostels, stacking floors to maximize profits. Students describe these accommodations as cramped cardboard boxes completely lacking sunlight and ventilation, where three to four individuals are packed into tight rooms. Rentals range from Rs 10,000 to Rs 12,000 per month for triple or four-sharing spaces, about Rs 15,000 for double-sharing rooms, and up to Rs 25,000 for single units. Other cramped spaces in the area charge Rs 13,000 to Rs 20,000 while bundling three daily meals. Exploiting students who come from far away and have no alternative, landlords demand steep two-month security deposits, trapping tenants in unsafe environments.

The human toll extends far beyond structural damage. Outside Jupiter Hostel, Riya, a political science major student, stood with her bags packed to return home. "This incident isn't even going out of my head; it has traumatized me from the core, and now I don't know when I will be able to come back to my normal life," she said. Her friend Shreya echoed the despair: "I wasn't able to sleep at night; I was very, very heartbroken. My mom was constantly calling me: 'Shreya, come back, we will never be able to send you back now.'"

Anger has spilled onto the streets, with student bodies like AISA organising indefinite strike demanding Rs 1 crore in compensation for every affected victim, strict safety audits, and accountability from authorities, including the DU Vice-Chancellor. Students bitterly questioned why UGC guidelines mandating that 60 percent of students receive campus housing are ignored when only 2 to 3 percent actually secure university hostels.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.