As the droplets of respite fell after dust storm in Delhi on sparsely populated area of northwest Delhi's Mungeshpur, residents breathed a sigh relief from temperature that soared above 50 degrees Celsius, water scarcity and power cuts with some of them in the area not even having a fan.
Residents have been having difficult time in the past 15 days as they grapple with severe water shortages as water is coming for only 10 minutes in the day and tankers hardly makes an appearance to the area. Many told The Pioneer about filling water from the tube wells in the field. Adding to their woes, residents said they had to walk a kilometer to fill water from tankers available in the nearby areas or turn to the tube wells.
As the rainfall brought some comfort, many were seen sitting on the pavements of their homes to feel the cold air, where they generally take refuge due to the power cutoffs. On Wednesday, when they faced a 12 hours cut in the night. Santoshi Devi, 56 years said, "raat ko 11 baje gyi thi light aur subah 11 baje aayi, 12 ghante mein halat kharab ho gyi" (the electricity was cut from 11 pm to 11 am. In these 12 hours it was very difficult to survive in such hot time).
Children rushed out of their home to rejoice in the rainfall which was preceded by a dust-storm. Four kids playing in the rain shared how only one of them had a fan in their home. So eager were they to take to the streets, many responded to questions with "please ask fast. We have to go and play".
Varsha, an eight year old girl, playing barefoot with four of her friends had a grin on her face and said, "This is the first time I have come to play in afternoon since the summer vacations started."
Another 13 years old boy, playing along, added that, "papa lohar hain, itni garmi mein paseene mein bheege rehte hain" (my father is a blacksmith, he keeps sweating while working the whole day due to heat).
A father and a son duo, including a 65 year old Arman and a 27 year old Subhash, who have their own junk shop, brave heat, dust and rain daily to work for nonstop 12 hours without a fan in their shop. 'Papi paet ka sawal hai' says the duo when asked about working in such conditions without any precautions to safeguard them from the heatstroke that has claimed two lives, which has been reported, in Delhi.
A 20 years old Suresh, lying on a charpai in the rain told that the water supply was down for 15 days in between and at that time their only support was the water from the tube wells in the fields. He further added that the water supply has been back on track in the last 3 days but the water still comes for only 2 hours in the morning.
A mother of two children shared her ordeals of feeding her baby. "I feel uneasy while feeding my two years old girl. In fact she has been unwell too and has been vomiting for the past two days due to the scorching heat."
Many, who have spent their whole life in this place, stated that while summers are usually very hot but this time around, temperatures are soaring very high.
