CNN Central News & Network-ITDC India Epress/ITDC News Bhopal: The Delhi High Court refused to grant an urgent hearing on a petition related to the collapse of a five-storey PG building in Delhi’s Satya Niketan. The court said an interim order had been issued in the matter just a day earlier, and there was no need for an urgent hearing on the same issue.
The matter had already been heard. On Monday, the Delhi High Court had expressed serious concern over the Satya Niketan incident. The court directed the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) to conduct a high-level inquiry into the collapse and sought responses from the officials concerned. It also raised wider questions over the safety of student PG accommodations and hostels.
The High Court also expressed concern that a large number of students studying at Delhi University are forced to live in private PG accommodations due to inadequate institutional housing facilities. The court stressed the need for safety audits of PG accommodations.
Seven people have died in the incident. A five-storey building in the Satya Niketan area suddenly collapsed on Sunday. A PG facility for students was being run from the building. So far, seven deaths have been confirmed in the incident, while several people have been injured. Relief and rescue operations were carried out after the collapse. Preliminary investigation has raised several questions related to the condition of the building and repair work. Police have begun action in the matter, and an investigation is also under way against the building owner.
Questions have also been raised over the role of the MCD and Delhi University. The High Court did not confine the issue to the responsibility of the building owner alone. The court also questioned the role of the MCD and Delhi University. It said that, in the absence of adequate student housing, students depend on private PG accommodations, and ensuring the safety of such housing is essential.
Following the court’s strict observations, demands have intensified for a wider review of safety arrangements in student PG accommodations and hostels in Delhi. The incident has also raised serious questions over the monitoring system for old and unauthorised buildings in the national capital.
Hashtags: #NationalIndia #Bhopal #DeskSource #SatyaNiketan #DelhiHighCourt #MCD #DelhiUniversity #SatyaNiketanCollapse #PGBuildingCollapse #StudentHostelSafety
