As Yamuna water flows into streets and homes, unhappy residents say no government has improved the city’s drainage facilities.
New Delhi
Delhi witnessed heavy rains last week, resulting in waterlogging at various places in the city and NCR regions. Though the downpour has stopped, people couldn’t get relief from the waterlogging.
After that, the level of the Yamuna gradually started increasing, and it breached the danger mark on 10 July. Later in the week, the Yamuna breached its highest-ever level, breaking the 45-year-old record and flowing above 208.48 as Haryana released water from the Hathnikund barrage.
According to the Central Water Commission (CWC), the water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 207-metre mark at 4 a.m. and rose to 207.25 metres on Wednesday. As per CWC’s prediction, the water level again rose and reached its highest-ever mark on Friday morning.
Officials said the river breached the danger mark earlier than expected. Haryana released water into the river from the Hathnikund barrage. Seeing the worst-ever scenario, authorities started evacuating the low-lying areas as the level of the Yamuna rose every hour. The authorities started shifting people to relief camps, community centres, tents, schools, etc.
Seeing the extreme flood situation, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal requested the residents of low-lying areas to vacate the place as soon as possible with the needed essentials. Kejriwal also urged people not to click selfies or take videos of the flooded Yamuna, as it could be dangerous. During the press conference, he said: “We have made adequate arrangements for everything, including food and amenities. I have met all the District magistrates and instructed them to take over schools and convert them to relief camps for the utilisation of toilets and other facilities.”
He also urged the Centre to intervene and ensure that levels in the Yamuna don’t rise further. He also wrote a letter to the Union Home Minister on the recent flood situation and requested that he ensure that the water release from Haryana’s Hathnikund barrage is slowed. Meanwhile, water released from the Hathnikund Barrage came down from 3.59 lakh cusecs at 11 a.m. on Tuesday to 1.47 lakh cusecs at 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
On the other hand, residents of low-lying areas are battling for their lives as the water reaches inside their houses. They have to leave their homes. While talking to them, we found that they were unhappy with the government, as the “government has failed to deliver on its promises”.
Piyush Sharma, a resident of Nigam Bodh Ghat, said that on Monday, the level of the Yamuna started increasing, and on Tuesday, it was inside their houses. He said this was not the first time that the water reached their houses, but it has been a persistent problem for many years, and despite that, no government has worked on it. “Every year, the same situation arises, and we have to leave our house for a week or two,” he said.
Ruchi Devi, a resident of Ghat No. 14 at Yamuna Bazaar Ghat, said: “We have been living here since 1980. We have seen many governments, but no government has come to resolve our problem. We have no other option but to live in such a critical situation. She added that no politician had come forward to help us in this mess. The government is useless; they just make fake promises at the time of the election.” Mansi, another resident, said: “Our family has been living here for many years. We have seen many governments, but none of them have worked for the people of flood-prone areas. Every year, water reaches our houses and affects our lives.” She added that “the government only makes fake promises to win the election, and after winning the election, it doesn’t bother to see us”.
Not only the people of low-lying areas but also the residents of other parts of the city seem unhappy with the government. Vineet Tiwari, a resident of Lakshmi Nagar, said that the civic body needed to be more active on the ground. He said the problem of waterlogging has been a persistent issue for the last 20 years in Delhi, and no government has worked to improve the drainage facilities of the city. Pride Thomas, a resident of Rajouri Garden, said: “Waterlogging was very common whenever it rained, residents of Rajouri Garden have to face wetterlogging, especially in the areas near Rajouri Matro.” Another resident of Mayur Vihar, Palak, said that Mayur Vihar Phase 2 has witnessed waterlogging every time it rains. She added that the Delhi government has failed to deliver on its promises.