CJP seeks Delhi PG hostel safety audit after Satya Niketan collapse
The Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) on Sunday called for accountability and a safety audit of all paying guest (PG) hostels in Delhi following the collapse of a five-storey hostel building in Satya Niketan that killed five people and left several others trapped.
CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke questioned the government's priorities on educational infrastructure, saying students were being made to stay and study in unsafe buildings while political establishments continued to receive attention and resources.
A CJP delegation led by organisation co-in-charge and north zone lead Deepak Baliyan and national joint secretary Balakrishna Shukla reached the collapse site near Delhi University's South Campus. The team joined local residents and emergency personnel involved in the rescue operation.
Dipke, in a post on X, questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's focus on student safety. He pointed out that Modi had visited Delhi University a day earlier and used the term "dimagi naxal" in a political speech, but had not said much about the condition of educational infrastructure.
"Today, a hostel building in South Campus has collapsed, with students feared trapped under the debris. The number of casualties is still unknown," Dipke said.
"How long must students be made to pay the price for failing infrastructure?" he asked, stressing the need for safe classrooms and hostels as well as basic dignity for students.
"Adivasi students are dying in tribal belts due to a lack of care and support, and even students studying in the national capital are not safe," Dipke said.
"Is that really too much to ask?" he said, questioning whether the prime minister would return to DU and explain the circumstances that led to the collapse.
Rescue teams continued operations at the building, which was named Hostel Daze by its owners.
The CJP said its volunteers would continue to stay at the site, support the families of those affected and monitor the rescue operation until all students were accounted for.
The party also called for a prompt inquiry into the municipal authorities' oversight of student accommodation in the area and demanded a safety audit of PG hostels throughout Delhi.
Members of the CJP team present at the site said local residents had started trying to rescue people trapped under the debris with their bare hands before emergency services arrived.
Local residents said the building had around 15 rooms, with two to three students living in each room. They also said construction or repair work was taking place in the basement.
Many of the hostel occupants are from Kerala, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. They are enrolled at Motilal Nehru College, Atma Ram Sanatan Dharm College and Sri Venkateswara College, all located across the road.
Residents also expressed concern about the structural condition of other buildings in the neighbourhood, where several residential properties have been converted into PG accommodations for students.
Dipke also referred to the curtailment of Union Minister Amit Shah's visit to Goa after news of the building collapse reached the state.
"While grand BJP Bhavans are being built across states, students are being forced to study and live in unsafe and inadequate infrastructure. This is not merely a question of buildings; it is about the future and safety of India's young people," Dipke said.
He urged the government to focus on safe schools, functional hostels and quality educational infrastructure instead of "grandiose political establishments".
Shah, who is on a three-day visit to Goa, had visited the BJP office at Chimbel village near Panaji and inaugurated it. During the programme, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant announced that the event would be curtailed following the building collapse in the national capital. (with inputs from PTI)
