Accomodating the first-cut off list

As the first cut-off list comes out students are in a mad rush to find a place to put up at, now that they are more or less oriented into which college they'll make it. With the commercialisation of education to the extent that it exists currently, property dealers will themselves approach you but if someone is completely on their own and doesn't have any acquaintances in Delhi, things are going to be tougher to deal with. In North Campus the area looks more like a bazaar or mela; the situation is such that you will find ads, flyers, hoardings and boards everywhere, the walls are barely visible.

The prevalent rates for PG accommodations are at Rs. 3,500-4,000 for a two-seater, 25 square feet room and Rs. 7,000-8,000 for a 50 square feet room. On the 23rd of this month, there was a student demonstration at Batra talkies against the hike of prices by property dealers where they made 2 property dealers come upfront and say on the mic that they won't charge commission to students. A lot of these brokers mislead freshers into illegal establishments which haven't registered themselves. Commission might be charged by some on a daily basis, sometimes the process might take 15 days, at other times even a month and you can accordingly do the calculation.

Students are lead through a maze of small and dingy, over-priced, low-quality rooms. They are shown a different room and given a different one. A lot of them had to move two-three times in one month alone. Out of desperation, the student pays commission to more than one broker. Tenants and land-lords too do not co-operate. They insist on people who come through brokers so that they aren't liable to issues of verification later. 50% of the rent is charged as commission so the initial investment can amount up to Rs. 12,500 (Rs 5,000 for rent + Rs. 2,500 commission + Rs. 5,000 Security, which is non-refundable). If you want a tiffin facility the prices are hiked further but it is strongly advised against by those who have experienced the stale quality of food given by these service providers.

For girls, Gandhi Vihar, Nehru Vihar, Dhaka Timarpur, Parmanand areas are complete no-no's. Vijayanand, who puts up at Mukherjee Nagar, which is one of the better off areas in comparison, shares "My kitchen is separated from my room and it's outside the premises of the flat. My gas cylinder and kitchen equipment was recently stolen and when I asked my land-lord he completely shrugged it off". South Campus which is predominantly girls colleges should look up the list of the suggested and black-listed PG accommodations, which too will be out today, before starting the search. Lamba House in East of Kailas, E-227 in Amar Colony, GK N-Block, South Ex and National Parl are the places which have the maximum people renting out their flats to PGs.