Five persons running paying guest (PG) accommodations in and around Marathahalli have approached police accusing their building owners of forcing them to pay rent. Last week, police commissioner Bhaskar Rao had made it clear that building owners should not force persons running PGs to pay rent during the Covid-19 crisis.
Marathahalli police registered five cases against the building owners on Sunday. According to a complainant, at least 90% of the occupants left the city after mid-March. “There are only 10% of the occupants in the PGs. We’re unable to get monthly payments from occupants, but need to ensure food, internet and cable services for the remaining persons,” he said.
Another complainant said police summoned landlords to the station and now they’ve decided not to demand rent until the situation normalises. “It happened only after police intervened in the matter,” he added.