Hostels in Gachibowli and IT Corridor Flout Safety Norms and Building Rules

Several hostels and paying guest accommodations across Gachibowli, Anjaiah Nagar, Madhapur, and Kondapur are operating with severe safety violations, flouting municipal building permissions and fire safety protocols in Hyderabad's IT corridor.

Residents living in these facilities face hazardous conditions, including blocked emergency exits, completely missing fire alarms, absent fire extinguishers, overcrowded living quarters, and a lack of basic security measures.

In Anjaiah Nagar, exit routes in multiple hostels were found obstructed by cots, beds, dining tables, washing machines, and utensils. Fire extinguishers are largely absent from the premises. The lifts installed in these structures carry a capacity of only three persons in constrained spaces, while staircases lack proper railings. Residents expressed serious concerns that occupants would have no means of escape in the event of a fire accident.

Overcrowding is prevalent across the accommodations. Rooms allotted to occupants are packed with heavy luggage, with cots occupying over 90 per cent of available floor space in some hostels, leaving little room for movement. Although managements routinely claim that premises are monitored, no CCTV cameras were found on site, and no security personnel were deployed to monitor strangers entering the buildings.

Several bachelors staying in the area stated that they continue to live in these facilities despite the clear risks to their physical safety due to affordable rents in the IT corridor.

In addition to internal safety hazards, many hostels operate without obtaining mandatory clearances or trade licences from civic authorities. In Anjaiah Nagar, building permissions were sanctioned strictly for ground-plus-one (G+1) floors on plots spanning 50 to 120 square yards. In violation of these approvals, operators have constructed buildings up to seven floors (G+7) along with penthouses. Similar unauthorized operations and lack of commercial trade licences were also recorded across Gachibowli and Madhapur.