Flood threat looms large over several low-lying areas near the swollen Yamuna, spreading panic. Though camps have been put up to safeguard people, hundreds still have nowhere to go.
The furious flow of the Yamuna has shaken people living in surrounding villages. Their farms have been destroyed, compelling them to swiftly shift base with their belongings. Make-shift tents have been erected along Vikas Marg, Mayur Vihar-I and Geeta Colony, among other locations. As the displaced people rued, no logistical support except tents were provided to them and they too were filthy.
With 13.56 lakh of cusecs of water released from Hathni Kund barrage in Haryana, the gushing river destroyed farms and pulled crops out. Besides the filth, large quantities of watermelons, musk melons, cucumbers and other ripe vegetables and fruits were borne away, drawing the attention of locals and passersby who tried grabbing them. The river has crossed its danger mark of 204.83 metres.
Dharam Dutt (68) was has been living in the open field near Yamuna at the Bela Estate area for 40 years now. He said, “I have lost most of my crops in two days. It happened to us in 2010 also. I have to feed my 12 family members and farming is our only means of livelihood.”
Near loha Pul, which is a roof for hundreds of rickshaw-pullers, there are a large number of stranded villagers who face the wrath of the monsoon almost every year without any Government aid.
Seema, mother of a 17-year-old daughter, has been living in a shabby tent near Yamuna Bazar with her family for the past 12 years. Expressing her misery, Seema said that “in alarming conditions, the water level rises up to the bridge and we have to rush to other locations. We have lost our shop several times before and it will happen this time too. The area we live in is full of muck and flies but there’s no option.”
“We have not received any help from the Government so far. Everyone is asking us to go to a safer place, but the question is where to goIJ” complained Seema who runs a small tea-stall in the dumping ground look-alike area next to the loha Pul.