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PG owners around Delhi University’s North Campus struggle with low occupancy
With no freshers coming this year anytime soon, PG owners find themselves in a tough situation.
Every year during the admission time, freshers rush to find Paying Guest (PG) accommodations near North Campus of Delhi University. PG owners usually witness a brisk business as bookings and enquiries start coming in. This year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, admissions also took a digital route and with no clarity about reopening of universities, PG owners do not expect students to come before September.
Rajpal Singh, who has been running girls and boys PG for the past 16 years in Hudson Lane, had to vacate the buildings that he used as a PG on rent.
“I am left with my PG buildings now but still have to incur the maintenance cost and electricity bill of the buildings and they are just adding to my loss. Hardly four people are staying here, mostly students have gone back to their hometowns. Even during vacation time, when students used to go back to their hometowns for one to two months, then also I never had a loss like this. During that time, students from DU hostels used to come and stay in the PG. We cannot predict when students will come now and we do not even know if they will be opting to stay in a PG,” says Singh.
PG owners did not expect things to be extended for such a long time. During this time, they are usually bombarded with enquiry and booking calls. Sandhya Singh, who has been running a girl’s PG in Vijay Nagar, Single storey for almost seven years, says that she just received about five calls for enquiry this year.
“I have been running the PG on rent and every year we used to accommodate close to 100 students. We just got maximum four to five calls this time, enquiring about the PG but students will not come anytime before September,” says Singh
She added that students will not be choosing triple or four sharing rooms, as for many social distancing will be a major concern.
“We did not expect things to be extended this much. We were hoping that until admission time, things might get normal. Even if students come in PGs, they will not opt for triple or four sharing rooms now. Everyone is under the fear of the pandemic and even we cannot plan anything right now till we start getting regular enquiries or bookings,” she says.
PG’s have been vacated since March and this year no freshers have come in till now. PG owners have been slowly vacating rented buildings in order to reduce their losses.
Shankul Sharma, who runs PG in Kamla Nagar, Hudson Lane and Vijay Nagar, says that 90 percent of the accommodation in his PG was by students and out of that 60 percent were freshers.
“Every year 60 percent of the students are freshers and rest are second or third-year students, including those also who are doing short term courses in Delhi. I had to let go of one of the buildings that I had taken up on rent to use as a PG. It depends on the owner also, some of them understand the current situation and adjust with us,” says Singh, who has been running PG for five years now. Adding, “Parents will now be more cautious in sending their kids to PG’s and would not want to take the risk. I don’t think there will be demand for triple sharing rooms, they will maximum choose a double sharing room or a single one.”
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