Delhi Building Collapse: Student volunteers step in with food, essentials for rescue teams

NEW DELHI: Students and volunteers of the National Service Scheme (NSS) at Maitreyi College stepped in to provide food and essential supplies to rescue personnel, evacuated students and others involved in relief operations following the building collapse in southwest Delhi's Satya Niketan.

The volunteers distributed biscuits, snacks, juice and drinking water to personnel of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies working at the site, besides students who were evacuated from nearby buildings.

They also appealed for donations of sanitary pads, clean clothes, medicines and other essential supplies, which they said would be distributed among students and others affected by the incident.

"We saw that there were students who had been evacuated and people working at the site for hours, so we wanted to help in whatever way we could. We have also started collecting donations of sanitary pads, clothes, medicines and other essentials, and will distribute them to those who need them," said Neha, a third-year student at Maitreyi College.

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Delhi Building Collapse: Relief efforts

The relief effort came as the death toll in the building collapse rose to seven on Monday, with search and rescue operations continuing for a second day. National president of the Indian Youth Congress (IYC) Uday Bhanu Chib also visited the site along with his colleagues and arranged food and essential supplies for those engaged in relief operations.

"It is the responsibility of all of us to stand by those in need and provide every possible assistance during such trying times. We stand united in this difficult hour and will ensure that aid reaches everyone in need," Chib said.

NSUI, AISA volunteers

Volunteers from other student organisations, including the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and the All India Students' Association (AISA), also joined relief efforts at the site and assisted students and others affected by the collapse.

The decades-old five-storey building, which housed a boys' paying guest accommodation near Delhi University's South Campus, collapsed around 1.30 pm on Sunday while repair work was underway. A total of 12 people were pulled out of the debris, of which seven were killed.

Multiple agencies, including Delhi Police, Delhi Fire Service, NDRF and Delhi Disaster Management Authority, have been carrying out rescue operations. The police have registered a case against the building owner and others, while a magisterial inquiry has also been ordered. The owner, Hariram Gupta, was apprehended from Rajasthan's Bhiwadi area on Monday, police said.