NEW DELHI: Delhi high court on Wednesday said the collapse of a multi-storey hostel building in Satya Niketan, which killed seven people including students, was “not an ordinary incident.“A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said four students who died had come to Delhi from small towns with hopes of building their careers. The court said their dreams were “shattered” because of the “callous and criminal conduct” of certain persons.“Four students lost their lives in the mishap…very tragic. It’s not an ordinary incident of any mishap. These four students had come to the capital with a lot of hopes and dreams, coming from small towns. All of that was shattered by such callous and criminal conduct on the part of (certain persons),” the court said.The building, which housed a boys’ paying guest accommodation near Delhi University’s South Campus, collapsed on September 6 while repair work was under way. Several people were injured in the incident.Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the court that authorities had taken several steps after the collapse, including mapping and identifying land and other facilities that could be used by students.The bench, however, said the shortage of hostel facilities in Delhi was not a “new phenomenon”.“Who doesn’t know the problem of hostels in the city? Students are flocking to Delhi for higher education, and this is not a new phenomenon. It has been happening for the last 20-25 years in the hope that they will build their career. See what has happened,” the bench said.
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The court was hearing a PIL filed by Aakarshak Danveer Rathi seeking an independent probe into the collapse, inspection of all paying guest accommodations and a compensation and rehabilitation scheme for victims and their families.The high court said it would hear the PIL along with another pending petition on September 25.On September 7, the court had ordered a high-level MCD inquiry into the collapse and said the government could not evade responsibility.It had also said the incident raised serious concerns over inadequate housing and hostel facilities, student safety and the measures taken by the MCD and other authorities to regulate paying guest accommodations.
