Delhi floods: Residents show disbelief as city turns into a river

Visitors take a boat ride in the swollen Yamuna river. Pic/PTI

Amid the intensifying rain spells in the northern region, the streets in Delhi have turned into streams and marketplaces into pools of murky water. Residents of low-lying areas in Delhi, amid the concerning times, have been rushed to save their lives and belongings. With the Yamuna river already flowing well above the danger level, authorities are constantly monitoring the situation.

As reported by news agency PTI, from shopkeepers in Majnu ka Tila to families in Madanpur Khadar and Badarpur, people are waiting for the waters to recede.

The Yamuna was flowing at 207 metres on Wednesday, 3rd September, at around 1 pm. While the authorities have been successful in evacuating people from low-lying areas, the situation is still not fully under control. News agency PTI has also reported that the Old Railway Bridge has been closed to traffic.

However, the real struggle for the displaced families will begin once the river recedes, as they attempt to piece together homes and livelihoods washed away by the flood.

Majnu ka Tila, one of the busiest areas in the locality, fell silent after water entered the lanes. While talking to the media, shopkeeper Anup Thapa said that he evacuated his store around 11 pm. He further asserted, "We shifted most of our goods, but some still got spoilt. Even after the water goes, we will have to repair the shop, which will cost us," as cited by news agency PTI.

Thapa, who lives with his wife and a three-year-old daughter beside the shop, has moved to a roadside camp. While expressing his distress, he said, "This is the second time after 2023. I urge the government to clean the streets and fix the area so that such incidents don't happen again," pointing to electric wires hanging dangerously low above the floodwater, reported PTI.

With the flood-like situation already turning the national capital into a flowing water stream, even stray dogs climbed staircases of deserted homes to escape the rising waters.

Another person who has been evacuated from one of Delhi's low-lying areas said, "Families had no food or utensils and were surviving only on biscuits and buns. We could not bring our cooking essentials, and now we have no facilities to cook - we are surviving on whatever we can buy from the kiosk," as cited by news agency PTI.

Meanwhile, the scenes at Yamuna Bazaar looked as if homes and shops were standing in the middle of the river.

Speaking to the media, a shopkeeper from Yamuna Bazaar stated, "The month has just started, and our earnings are already gone. We still have to pay rent and resettle everything once the water reduces," as cited by news agency PTI.

(With inputs form PTI)