New Delhi: As the waters of the Yamuna snaked through Ram Kishore Marg in Delhi’s upscale Civil Lines, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and Delhi Police personnel worked against the clock, rescuing residents and their pets.
A few bright orange NDRF boats floated in the rising floodwaters that entered the residential colony from Ring Road Thursday, ready to ferry people to safety. The ground floors of several bungalows were submerged. From SUVs to Mercedes, numerous cars bobbed in the water, only their roofs visible.
Ajay Dubey, 53, a Ram Kishore Road resident, told ThePrint that the rescue operations went off without a hitch. “I went for a walk at 5 am. There was no water then. It started rising after 5.30 am. We alerted the local authorities. By 7 am, the NDRF team had started evacuations in the area.”
In another part of Civil Lines, the water levels were not that high, but residents were still holed up in their homes with no electricity, unable to get out for food and essentials.
Meanwhile, at a small settlement on the banks of the swollen river near Rajghat, a group of labourers managed on their own. A vast swathe of jhuggis was under water, with just the top of one peeking out. Speaking to ThePrint, they recalled how they got no warning before the water started flowing into their homes on the night of 10 July. All they could do was grab hold of their livestock, and rush towards higher ground. No NDRF or police came to help, they claimed.
Mohammad Badroon felt angry. An autorickshaw driver, he lived in a shanty in the Bela Estate area. “No one alerted us that the flood waters will rise so quickly or that we should leave our homes,” he said.
“From mattresses to clothes to bikes, everything is destroyed now,” he rued. Others standing next to him complained about losing their belongings. “We don’t have anything but the clothes on our backs and our animals.”
Asked about the different experiences of the residents of both areas, NDRF Director General (DG) Atul Karwal said, “NDRF personnel have been stationed at every nook and corner of the city and are available 24/7 for assistance. At this point we can only ask the public to be patient and listen to instructions. From pets to livestock to belongings, we are trying our best to rescue everyone and everything.”
Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Central Sanjay Kumar Sain, meanwhile, said: “Through announcement and persuasion, appeals were sent out and people were evacuated out with the help of district administration, police and NDRF.”
However, senior NDRF officers and police officers told ThePrint that people in some areas were apprehensive and scared to step out of their homes leaving their belongings.
“It was a challenge to convince some people to come out of their homes. With immense persuasion, they were evacuated,” said a senior NDRF official.
On 10 July, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that a flood situation was highly unlikely but assured the government was prepared for all emergencies. However, on Wednesday, he urged residents in low-lying areas near the Yamuna banks to evacuate immediately.
“The water will enter your houses, there will be no time and it will be harmful for you and your life. Requesting everyone with folded hands, please don’t wait,” he said at a press conference.
Several parts of Delhi including Boat Club, Pandav Nagar, some parts of Gandhi Nagar, Bhajanpura and ITO witnessed severe waterlogging in the past few days. Water in the Yamuna rose as high as 208.66 metres Thursday evening, and came down to 208.17 metres around 6 pm Friday. Schools and colleges were ordered shut and there are expectations of shortage of drinking water in the coming days. Floodwaters have disrupted traffic and led to damage to property. Sixteen NDRF teams have been deployed in Delhi for relief and rescue missions, a senior NDRF officer said Thursday.
The Delhi Secretariat, housing the offices of Kejriwal, his cabinet and other senior bureaucrats, was also flooded Thursday.
Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has accused the BJP government in Haryana of being responsible for the situation by releasing water in the Yamuna from its Hathnikund barrage.
‘Many sick, paralysed people rescued’
Asked about the rescue operations, Civil Lines resident Dubey, quoted earlier, recalled: “We had called the NDRF teams…the Civil Lines ACP and SHO and the rest of the divisional officers, all of them came. We rescued people by the dozens from here.”
He added: “As the water levels rose through the day, people were stuck in their houses. There were even some sick and paralysed people in some houses. We even rescued the pets of a family in a villa along with the help of the rescue personnel.”
“The administration is very kind,” another resident chimed in.
Ram Kishore Road is around 10 minutes away from the Delhi Secretariat, which houses the CM’s office.
‘Let’s see who comes to us for votes now’
On the banks of the Yamuna, the displaced labourers spent two days sleeping on the streets, without a roof over their heads, their cattle tied to the guard rails. On the third day, makeshift tents were erected there by the civic body.
“There are no sanitary facilities, even for women. There are also no arrangements for food,” said Hiralal, another labourer from the Bela Estate area, as people crowded around a scooter that had come to distribute bananas and some other food items.
Hiralal said the authorities always alerted them in advance when the water levels of the Yamuna rose on previous occasions, but this time, no one did. “There was worse flooding in 2002 also, but the government had helped us out then. Why can’t the government help us now?” he asked.
“They come to us begging for votes…Let’s see who comes to us for votes now.”
Hiralal also recalled how a child fell into the flood water. “This water is deep enough to drown a man, and if you go a little further two men. Imagine what could have happened if we didn’t immediately rescue him?”
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)