10x10 room: Cop shows plight of UPSC aspirants in Delhi
Every year, between 50,000 to 100,000 Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) aspirants relocate to Delhi from various parts of India to prepare for their exams. However, only a minuscule fraction of about 0.01% of the approximately 400,000 candidates who sit for the exams annually make it to the final list. The recent death of three UPSC aspirants in Delhi's Old Rajinder Nagar area has highlighted the struggles these students face due to housing issues.
High rents, tiny rooms
These aspirants, who travel from across the country to the national capital, are compelled to pay exorbitant rents for tiny rooms where they spend most of their time studying. A video shared by Deputy Superintendent Of Police Anjali Kataria reveals the living conditions in these rooms. According to her video, a student reportedly pays ₹12,000-15,000 per month for a "10x10" room. The footage shows a room barely large enough to accommodate a study table, chair and cupboard.
Inside the aspirants' rooms
The room, as shown in Kataria's video, had an AC and a plastic chair that hung from the curtain rod as an improvised clothesline due to space constraints. A rope stretched across the room also bore wet clothes. One corner of the room was occupied by a cupboard piled with books. The camera panned across the room showing a study table and chair squeezed into the limited space. Above this table was a whiteboard covered with notes and study materials.
Watch the police officer's video here
Don't waste your family's money: Cops message
The surrounding walls of the room were plastered with pages of notes, study guides and reference materials. There was barely enough room for the occupant to move comfortably. With the post Kataria shared a message with the aspirants, "Don't go to Delhi just to get away from home, and don't waste your family's money." She pointed out that the "cartel of landlords" keeps increasing the rent, forcing aspirants to study in cramped rooms through "online videos."
