Expensive PGs force UPSC aspirants to seek refuge in basement libraries
Poor living conditions create a need for a space to study, which is why hundreds of libraries propped up in basements of buildings here, aspirants said
NEW DELHI
A dingy basement door opens to reveal a small room with two single beds, a small study table and an almirah with UPSC preparation books in a corner — after passing through a waterlogged toilet and a kitchen space right next to each other. “ ₹17,000”, says 23-year-old Rinchen Mohtan, one of its occupants, when asked about the rental for the accommodation.
“When I came here, there was no ventilation. After multiple calls to the owner, he finally got a hole made in the wall and installed an exhaust. We heaved a sigh of relief. This is the best place in this price range. I can’t afford more than this at the moment,” he said.
Mohtan came to Delhi from Darjeeling after completing his bachelor’s degree in business administration from a private university in Sikkim in August 2023, on the advice of his college seniors, who promised he would find the “environment and resources” to prepare for UPSC exams in Delhi’s coaching hubs.
But little did they tell him about the high cost of living, advance amounts, rentals and expensive amenities that would leave him financially bare during his stay in Delhi. Students who fail to crack the UPSC exams on their first attempt are the worst sufferers, as they have to put up with poor and sometimes, unsanitary, living conditions to prepare for the exams.
Mohtan is one of thousands of students who flock to the Capital’s UPSC coaching hubs, pay around ₹2 lakh to the coaching centres and stay in cramped spaces that cost excessive amounts due to a lack of rules and regulations for their operations.
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Poor living conditions create a need for a space to study, which is why hundreds of libraries propped up in basements of buildings here, aspirants said. They said library owners charge about ₹2,000- ₹3,000 a month from each student, if they opt for 24-hour access.
A 45-year-old library manager, on condition of anonymity, said: “Students here cannot function without libraries because they need the quiet to study at their own pace.”
Ex-officials of the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) said there was a need for mixed land use in the area due to mushrooming commercial activities in the wake of privatisation initiatives undertaken in the early 1990s. Mixed-use was added as Chapter 15 for the first time when the Delhi Master Plan (MPD) 2021 was announced in 2007, in areas that were earlier planned as exclusively residential.
However, officials said that such development was meant to be taken up along with some “riders”, such as a redevelopment plan for parking and services.
Sumit Saurabh, a 29-year-old aspirant, said, “My roommate studies at different hours; so, we spend over 12 hours a day in the libraries. Most of the ones on upper floors in the area are almost always full so we had to opt for the ones in basement. Now that they are shut, it’s becoming a hassle to study with concentration but we hope a better system is in place soon.”
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Nakkana Gowrnaidu, a 20-year-old from Andhra Pradesh, also resides in a basement that is a square room spanning four feet on each side. “It’s a basement, so rats are a big problem. But this is all I can afford because my parents have taken a loan for ₹1.5 lakh for my coaching,” he said.
‘Brokers’ rule’
Mohtan paid ₹1.9 lakh in coaching fees and shares the cramped basement accommodation with a friend. His parents — his father is a farmer and his mother, a private employee — send him ₹15,000 per month, which he manages. He said he doesn’t eat out or spend on leisure.
Mohtan was lucky he didn’t have to pay brokerage to find the accommodation, as his friends knew the owner personally. But for 25-year-old Deepa Kumari, paying brokerage and high rents — while resolving not to take a penny from her parents to ensure they are not burdened — has forced her to think about whether she should go for coaching or not.
Kumari, who came from Angul, a small town in Odisha, works for an IT firm in Noida to fund her UPSC preparation. She moved to Delhi in 2023, paid ₹19,000 as brokerage and got a two-bedroom accommodation in a basement in Old Rajendra Nagar for ₹21,000 a month.
Showing videos of the room, she said, “There was no ventilation. I started falling sick very quickly, frequently suffering cold and cough. Once, it stayed for three weeks and I visited a doctor who told me that it was because of a lack of ventilation. I called the broker to show me more places but he said his job was done as soon as I got the house.”
Aspirants HT spoke to claimed a nexus between brokers and paying guest (PG) house owners, calling for strict norms to regulate them. Aspirants said they are forced to pay 21 days of rental as a fee to brokers, as owners refuse to entertain them if they approach them directly.
“The brokers run the show here. They tell the PG owners to set a certain price because it’s directly proportional to their brokerage,” Kumari said.
Three months later, Kumari found another broker, paid ₹18,000 after negotiation and found a first-floor accommodation that cost her ₹25,000 a month. The owner provided her with two charpoys to turn into a bed, a fan, an air conditioner and a toilet flush which did not work, she said.
The broker and house owner refused to comment on the matter.
Kumari makes ₹40,000 a month, but the entire amount is spent on survival. “The reason I stay here is because of the resources the place has to offer. In my town, even if there are coaching centres, there are no books. There’s no one to guide me or discuss the course. This place has it all but it obviously comes at a cost,” she said.
Kumari said she doesn’t wish to ask for money from her father as he is paying for her younger sibling’s engineering course.