I Went Looking For A PG In Delhi's Kamla Nagar. Here's What I Found

I had barely entered Kamla Nagar in North Delhi, navigating through scores of street-side stalls selling clothes for as little as Rs 200, when a woman spotted me lingering outside a cluster of hostels and paying-guest (PG) accommodations.

She then excused herself to park a lemon soda cart on the side and soon led me through lanes with vertical houses conjoined and signboards promising economical PGs with "all facilities". Within minutes, I became a first-year student or a "prospective customer", who was being sold the dream of a fully furnished home-like stay in the national capital starting at Rs 8,500 and going up to Rs 38,000 a month.

She was a lemon soda vendor, who doubled up as a broker for nearby PGs for commission ranging between Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000. For a fresher arriving in Delhi, brokers parked outside colleges and student housing societies become the first point of contact.

Putting her lemon soda business on hold, she led me to a woman named Pooja, a warden of a ground + four-storey girls PG. I was shown beds in the range of Rs 16,500 to Rs 19,000 a month in a double and triple sharing occupancy. The rooms came with ACs, attached washrooms, study tables, wardrobes and four meals a day.

The package included WiFi, washing machine and induction cooktop on every floor.

On paper, the PG appeared to offer everything a student would need. A closer look, however, revealed several concerns.

The mess or common area built on the fourth floor of the building was under construction and was open from one side, bringing in heat and dust. An additional floor was being built.

Students were charged Rs 14 per unit of electricity per room as opposed to the domestic electricity rates in Delhi ranging between Rs 3 and Rs 8 per unit and commercial electricity rates between Rs 6.50 and Rs 9.50 per unit. The rooms had little to no ventilation. The windows opened inside the property, barely giving a view of the outside world.

When I expressed budget constraints, Pooja agreed to some discount, though not enough for my pocket. The lemon soda vendor, however, had more to offer.

She took me to "Golden Homes", PG for girls offering bed for Rs 13,000 to Rs 14,000, with various permutations and combinations - with or without attached washroom, small or big, double sharing or triple.

"We don't sign any rent agreement; that's the best part about our facility," boasted an official at Golden Homes. "Almost all PGs here make you sign an agreement with 11-month lock-in period. Here, you give us one month notice and you are free to leave."

From the reception, I was taken through an alley so narrow that only one person could walk abreast. On the right were two bedrooms, just enough to host two small single beds, study tables and wardrobes. The room was so cramped that opening a wardrobe left little space to move around comfortably. On my left were washrooms for the occupants of these bedrooms.

The rooms carried a stale, musty smell, as though they had remained shut for days, made more noticeable by the lack of ventilation.