Hostels in Hyderabad IT hub unsafe for residents, flouting safety norms

Several hostels and PG accommodations in Hyderabad’s IT corridor are allegedly operating with serious safety violations. Residents in Anjaiah Nagar, Gachibowli, Madhapur and Kondapur face blocked exits, missing fire extinguishers and alarms, overcrowded rooms and inadequate security.

Hyderabad: Though working in high-end office spaces that rise high and spread wide in the bustling IT Corridor of Hyderabad, a major workforce ends up living in drab and dingy spaces of hostels and paying guest accommodations that dot Cyberabad.

Hundreds of PGs and hostels in Gachibowli, Madhapur and Kondapur offer them accommodation but are run with severe safety violations and provide little living space.

Hostels in Anjaiah Nagar have been described as unsafe for residents, raising concerns among people living in the area, and a similar situation prevails in Madhapur and Kondapur too.

Some of the hostels in Anjaiah Nagar can be found with exits blocked by cots, beds, dining tables, washing machines and utensils. Fire extinguishers are largely missing.

The lifts are built with a capacity of three persons in the limited space, and there is no proper railing on the staircases. Residents raise concerns that if any untoward fire accident occurred, there would be no way for residents to escape. Fire alarms are also completely missing at these hostels.

Rooms allotted to occupants are packed with heavy luggage and, in some places, over 90 per cent of the space is occupied by cots, leaving little space for entry and exit. Despite the management’s assurance that the hostel premises are under surveillance, no CCTVs could be found anywhere. There were no security personnel to check strangers.

A few bachelors said that though living here is a massive risk, they continue to stay because of the affordable rents. Some of them admit that the lack of safety norms directly threatens their physical well-being.

These hostels and PG accommodations operate without following fire safety norms and, in most cases, there is no clearance for their operations from the civic body. In Anjaiah Nagar, building permission was given only for G+1 as the extent of the land was between 50 sq yards and 120 sq yards. Violating the building permissions, most have built hostels up to G+7 with penthouses.

Though it is mandatory that those operating with commercial purposes should obtain trade licences, in Gachibowli and Madhapur, several hostels are operated without obtaining trade licences.