With students from the University of Delhi for almost two years, several businesses on the North campus that have developed around their needs – pay for guest accommodations, Tiffin services to photocopiers – take severe hit. When Varsity reopened next week, they hope everything will start looking now.
After the university news was reopened on February 17, bankrupt on Wednesday, Rohit Shutter’s telephone began buzzing from 4pm to midnight with messages and calls from students. He runs Anand Bhawan, PG popular men in Vijay Nagar near the North Campus, and said that 50% of 66 seats have been booked. In fact, some students who were passionate and anxious and their parents made reservations in February.
“The first booking was made last February. Every time the University gives an indication of the slightest anything that it might move towards reopening, people make reservations by paying a one-month rent as a confirmation rental,” he said.
Some students living in PG when national locking had been put in place by 2020 continued to stay until July, until they could get transportation to return. It was followed by 18 months from a business break.
“Students who were in the first year at that time and returned to leave most of their luggage, which we save at no cost for the past half of the year. Now they will return and stay for three months, after that they will graduate,” he called out , adding that, “things seem to take it again in the last few days even though students still try to find out things like where they should spend their three-day isolation period.”
Areas around the North Campus are home to a large number of businesses that have developed directly in response to the needs of thousands of students who study and live there. The economy of PG, in particular, has boomed at least a decade with the entry of a large number of students from outside Delhi to college with a limited hostel capacity – until the pandemic struck. With their customers missing for almost two years, many of these view other customer base.
“This market has grown massively in the past 10 years, but I think only about 30% of the previous room capacity is ready to meet students today,” said Vikas Bansal, Vice President of the Delhi Student Housing Association, an association. Property owner and PG and students.
He also runs a large PG business on the North campus. “Before Covid, my business has a capacity for 500 students. During a pandemic, we convert around 150 seats to stay family or for the use of the hotel industry. So now, we have a capacity for 350. Now bookings have started, I hope not less than 100 orders Will be made on weekends. After this 350 is filled, I hope to convert other rooms back for PG use. It is more profitable. We get commercial property such as residential properties, “he said.
Other businesses also switch to other customers. Shanki Jain has started Batman Tiffin’s service in 2017 to the house providing food to students such as Vijay Nagar, Hudson Lane, Kamla Nagar, Malkherjee Nagar. He said that he had 370 clients before the pandemic, after the business dried up.