You a student? Sorry, no flats

Societies in Vimannagar refuse to give flats on rent to students and bachelors, say they bring in women at night, play loud music

You a student? Sorry, no flats

Societies in Vimannagar refuse to give flats on rent to students and bachelors, say they bring in women at night, play loud music

Notices banning students from renting flats have become commonplace in almost all societies in the city.

Whether it is Vimannagar or Kothrud, Prabhat Road or Aundh, housing society members are resisting students.

Students and bachelors living on rent in a society are blamed for condom wrappers strewn around gardens and ducts and obscene drawings on staircases, and society members say they want to protect their children from these things.

MiD DAY visited societies in Vimannagar to know the reality.

Kaustubh Kulkarni, chairman of Lalvani Avenue at Sakorenagar in Vimanagar, said, "We have a protocol and it should be followed strictly by society members, but students and bachelors don't follow it. They generally come with girls after 7 pm. It does not stop just here; a contract is made for four people in a flat but we have seen more than 8-10 students sharing the flat and disturbing the family life of society members."

He said the society has had bitter experiences with students and bachelors.

"We found condoms thrown in ducts and suspect that narcotic substances are being used by students. And if they break the law, ultimately the society body comes under the scanner for allowing them to live in the society," Kulkarni said. "Taking this into consideration these things, we have issued a three months' notice to the students and bachelors telling them to vacate the place on or before March 31"

Many other societies in Vimannagar, which has a lot of students from Symbiosis Institute of Mass Communication (SIMC), International School of Business and Media and other colleges, have also served notices to students, asking them leave their societies.

Students cry foul
Neeraj Singh, a student and resident of Lalvani Avenue, said, "The chairman can not change society rules overnight and issue a notice to us. We have our contracts terminating in July and at no cost will we leave the place before that. Our parents work hard to support our education and living, and moving to a new society is not only an inconvenience but also a monetary burden as we have to pay hefty sums to brokers."

Gaurav Oberoi, a student and a resident of Ganga Nebula society, where a notice has been issued to all bachelors to leave the place in three months, said he had already found a new place.

Another student, Hargun Sachdeva, said, "I have an internship lined up, so we have decided to shift to another place."

But Ashish Ganjir and another student differed in their view on the way societies were treating students.
"If students booze, bring in girls and create chaos, it's obvious that a strict action will be taken. However, why do others have to suffer for no mistake of theirs?" Ganjir said.

Vishal Singh, a broker in Vimannagar, confirmed that societies had decided to not rent flats to students.

"Owing to students' misbehavior, many societies in Vimannagar took a collective decision to not accommodate bachelors," Singh said.

Cops unaware
Senior Police Inspector Shivaji Devkar denied knowledge of notices being issued to students and said the decision might have been taken by society members based on their experience.

But another police officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said that during night patrolling the police often get calls from societies in Vimannagar complaining about loud music and objectionable behavior by girls and boys.

Director of SIMC Anupam Siddhartha said, "Students have not approached me with this issue. If faculty members from our institute have approached a residential society, then they have to approach me, but nobody has kept me in the loop so far."

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