By Amala Dasarathi
We’ve all heard stories of crazy PG landlords and landladies – ones who moral police, ones who fleece, ones who think adult women need extra rules because they are a liability and need to be monitored. Well, we just came across another crazy one, thanks to Pinjra Tod.
This week, a group of nine female students in Delhi decided to fight back against their terrible PG landlord. The women were refused tenancy agreements and receipts for rent paid and asked to pay inflated electricity bills by their landlord. They were subjected to daily moral policing, surveillance and abuse at the hands of the landlord and his family.
The landlord went to the women’s room at midnight, demanding that they pay their electricity bill. Sick of the harassment, the women decided to leave the PG in the morning, but were stopped by the landlord, who confiscated their luggage and even pushed one of them down the stairs. The women promptly called the police. Following this, the landlord locked them out of their rooms and called their parent to discuss their ‘drinking’ and ‘smoking’ habits, just like hostel wardens do. He also refused to let them back into their rooms, claiming they would bring drugs with them.
But the women held their ground, and eventually won their fight! The landlord returned their security deposit, which he was withholding from them. The women are also filing a complaint with the NDPL for fraud for their inflated electricity bills.
Pinjra Tod is compiling a blacklist of PGs, and have asked people to send them their stories.
Are you a female student anywhere in the country with PG horror stories of your own? We want to hear all about it. Write to us at fingerzine [at] gmail [com].