Following the outbreak of Covid-19, most of the outstation students rushed back to their hometowns. Many of the students left within a day leaving behind majority of their luggage in their PG's and hostels. The main problem arose during May when the student’s contract with their respective accommodations ended, they were then requested to evacuate the place. By then the situation had escalated into a global pandemic and the students had no means to return to Mumbai to collect their luggage.
Distance also played a major role. Mann Gandhi who lives in Surat, when his one year contract ended- received a notice from the warden to collect his belongings was easily able to come to Mumbai to retrieve his luggage whereas students who live in faraway places like Anjali Singh who hails from UP has no means to return and collect her luggage.
Atyant Sharma said, “For the first three months, the landlord agreed to reduce the rent but now I still have to pay the full rent till this day because my belongings are there.”
Khushi Agrawal said, “My PG owners are really nice, they packed all my belongings in cardboard boxes and couriered it to me without any additional charges.” She further said that while the owners of her PG are facing problems due to not receiving any rent and few of their buildings have closed down however they have started making provisions by relocating and remodeling other buildings so the students can join again.
While some students such as Naman Trivedi and Sanskriti Sharma said that their luggage is still in Mumbai, however they haven’t been in touch with their respective PG owners and haven’t received any clarity regarding their situation.
Majority of students did not face any major issues regarding the accommodation and have safely got their belongings back. Let’s hope the few students who are facing issues will be able to quickly resolve it.
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