While demand for PGs results in skyrocketed rent in Hyderabad, what is the quality of life of youngsters residing there?
Published Sep 27, 2024 | 9:00 AM ⚊ Updated Oct 10, 2024 | 9:17 PM
Life in Hyderabad PGs are often full of compromises
Hyderabad’s Information Technology (IT) industry is burgeoning and is concentrated in three primary areas – Secunderabad, Hyderabad, and Cyberabad. Of these, Cyberabad, which comprises areas including Gachibowli, Kondapur, and HITEC city, forms the IT hub of the city.
Bathroom of a PG in Hyderabad
PG (Paying Guest) accommodations has become the default option for young professionals or students who are leaving their hometowns to live in Telangana’s capital city either to study or work.
IT industry has offered the middle class youth a chance at upward mobility for decades, and cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune have seen a steady inflow of working professionals and fresh graduates from other parts of the country.
The influx of young people seeking spaces to live in has sent rent skyrocketing in cities like Hyderabad. The shortage of affordable living spaces is made up by the mushrooming of PG accommodation wherever IT hubs are located.
The increasing demand for PGs is also driving the rents up for existing tenants. A recent investigation by South First revealed that PGs in Bengaluru are guilty of violating the construction rules, thus endangering lives. In light of that, we decided to do a reality-check on the living conditions of youngsters in Hyderabad PGs.
Students and youngsters just entering the job arena are out to strike a good deal when it comes to accommodation, and are keen to spare themselves expenses even if it makes for some inconvenience. The new professionals and college students look for affordable housing and food, preferably close to their workplaces or institutions.
Blocked off smoke detector in Anwesha’s PG in Kondapur
Praneetha Bandaru, who moved to Hyderabad from Kakinada in Andhra Pradesh to work as a sub-editor in a magazine found a room at Happy Hub Women’s PG in Kondapur. “Flats are just too expensive. Besides, at the PG, my food and Wi-Fi expenses are also taken care of,” the 20-year-old student said.
Meghana Tammina, a 21-year-old who works in marketing in Kondapur, also chose a PG due to its proximity to her workplace. The timely food and cleaning services were also important, she said.
PGs charge monthly rent of about ₹7,000 for a four-sharing room; a private room could cost as high as ₹20,000. While luxury PG chains like Stanza Living also exist, the ordinary student or young professional finds these too expensive.
Most PGs offer food, WiFi, washing machines, and other such amenities along with accommodation.
A, who did not wish his full name to be revealed for obvious reasons, told South First, “They’ve stuffed four people in a room that barely fits two.” A is a resident of Sri Balaji Luxury Men’s PG, near Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University. Even so, despite the crowding, A finds that his space is better compared to a lot of other PG accommodations he visited.
“It’s still far better than the other PGs I’ve come across. So that makes me feel good about living here,” he says.
A four-sharing room at a PG in Secunderabad
R, a resident in a privately-owned hostel in Nizampet said, “They asked us to pay 10 months’ rent in advance. If I choose to leave now, I will forfeit that advance amount,” said the Khammam native who has resided there for three years. He said that even though he pays ₹8,300 per month, the living conditions are poor and there are just no regulations and no one to seek redress from.
“There are people I know living in PG accommodation at Bachupally – during the monsoon, the first floor of their building cannot be used,” R said, offering an insight into the utter lack of government regulation.
He spoke of the arbitrary rules that owners impose on residents of PG accommodation: “They choose, at whim, a window of time in which food will be served. If you go before that, they refuse to let you have your meal; go a little late, and there is just no food left for you,” R shared with South First.
Many young professionals and students complained about the food. “The thing is, I cannot expect quality food here – it is a PG after all, I cannot expect food to taste good,” A said, exposing the disturbing reality that food not being good at PGs is normalised.
“Curries are too watery, and the food is tasteless; the menus are written in stone and cannot be altered, so it is a sorry state,” Meghana said.
Anwesha Pattnaik, who moved to Hyderabad from Odisha says, “The food is either too spicy or too bland. There are hygiene issues too with the kitchen.” She lives in a PG accommodation in Kondapur.
The Kitchen at Anwesha’s PG
There are certificates and licenses that one must have to register and operate PG accommodations in Telangana. Although there are mandatory requirements to ensure quality and safety of food served and kitchens where they are prepared, those are not implemented or enforced.
Here is a list of the regulations that those running PG accommodation must follow:
A few residents that this correspondent spoke with listed shortcomings in the hygiene and fire safety requirements. “Washrooms are ill-maintained,” R said. “We have an infestation of bed bugs,” A reported, adding that he has removed strands of hair from his food on more than one occasion. “We’ve found mosquitoes and cockroaches in the food,” Anwesha said.
Strands of hair in the food is common at A’s PG
“At night, we can hear rats screech in the kitchen,” R said, adding that the oil used to cook does not taste fresh. “Any complaints fall on deaf ears. They are never addressed,” he said.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) conducted raids on PGs in Ashoknagar and Madhapur, fuelling concerns about the quality of food even in PGs not raided. FSSAI officials found that the establishments did not adhere to safety norms; vegetables were stored in spaces infested with pests.
Almost all those who spoke with South First about their PG said they had never seen a fire extinguisher on the site. Anwesha said, “They’ve blocked off smoke detectors.”
Blocked off smoke detector in Anwesha’s PG in KondapurTrying to stint on expenses and live within their means without burdening their families, these young people face quite a struggle in the PGs of the Big City.
(Edited by Rosamma Thomas)
