A large crack running from the main gate towards the upper floors of a paying-guest accommodation in the national capital’s Chirag Delhi area triggered a late-night evacuation, with students moved out of the four-storey building as a precaution.
“Last night, a large crack was noticed in a building in Chirag Delhi.
As a precautionary measure, the local administration evacuated the children from the premises,” Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood said. Male students were accommodated at Bhagat Singh College, while female students were shifted to the Vocational College, Sood said. “The administration assured the students that they would be helped in recovering their belongings and security deposits,” he said.
The Delhi government is working on a law to regulate paying-guest accommodations. The plan includes mandatory licences, police and civic clearances, unique registration numbers and a government portal listing verified PGs. The proposed rules also include CCTV cameras at entrances and common areas, visitor registers, security guards for larger PGs and wardens who can reach the accommodation during emergencies. The government is also considering measures on rents, security deposits and eviction notices. Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has ordered a crackdown on illegal construction, with the MCD carrying out demolition drives and intensifying inspections of PGs and hostels. Speaking about the Chirag Delhi evacuation, Sood also hit out at former Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, accusing him of trying to politicise the issue.
“We do not want to get drawn into controversies, but I must point out that Saurabh Bharadwaj, who is now going around demanding accountability, was the MLA from this area for 10 years,” he said.
