The fact that the attacker was able to enter this exclusive residence for women and walk straight to the victim’s room on the third level shows how dangerous these spaces are for female users. About 20,000 PG lodgings are thought to exist in Bengaluru, but not even a quarter of them hold the required commercial licences from the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP).
The Bengaluru police recently released a set of rules that stipulated that a licence was required to operate a PG accommodation. In addition, the facilities must obtain the identity cards, current photos, and contact information of any blood relatives of the prisoners. The owners are required to install CCTV cameras and put fire safety precautions in place in order to comply with the Karnataka Public Safety Act, 2017.
Source: Free Press Journal
Additionally, the requirements state that hiring security guards and cooks should wait until after police verification. In addition to providing first aid kits, the PG lodgings should publicly post the phone numbers of emergency services and prohibit illicit activities such as the consumption and storage of drugs. But these standards mainly exist in writing.
PG lodgings have also proven to be a burden on municipal infrastructure in the lack of appropriate regulations. It is not uncommon for there to be over 30 prisoners housed in one living unit on a small piece of ground due to overcrowding. This inevitably increases the burden on the rubbish collection system and the availability of drinking water. Even worse, drinking water and other services are paid for at household, not commercial, prices because the majority of PG accommodations lack trade licences.
Source: CNN-News 18
A lot of PG lodgings are also housed in structures that were not authorised to be built.Thousands of people have undoubtedly benefited from PG accommodations, particularly students and young professionals who cannot afford Bengaluru’s expensive rentals.
However, there is also a need to govern them by developing a thorough set of rules that will guarantee that they provide their residents with safety and security in addition to paying commercial rates for the municipal services they use. Both the authorised PG lodgings that do not adhere to regulations and the illicit ones that operate without licence should be the target of an immediate crackdown by the BBMP. It’s time to rein in the many PG accommodation proprietors who have turned a law unto themselves.
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