New Delhi, Jul 15 (PTI) As the Yamuna breached its banks and water overflowed onto the streets of Delhi, endangering lives and damaging property in low-lying areas, the aim of all first responders was to rescue as many people as possible.
In many cases, however, animals — stray dogs, cows, bulls and cats — were left behind to sink or swim.
While the National Disaster Response Force stepped in to rescue more than 900 animals, from the flood-affected areas of Delhi and Noida during the last few days, two NGOs also evacuated to safety more than 400 dogs.
Friendicoes and Noida-based House of Stray Animals conducted operations in various parts of the city and rescued hundreds of dogs trapped in low-lying areas hit by a rise in the Yamuna’s water level.
After wreaking havoc on lives and livelihoods in parts of Delhi, the swollen Yamuna started receding on Saturday morning, albeit at a pace of a few centimetres per hour.
However, it continues to flow over two metres above the danger mark of 205.33 metres.
Speaking about the rescue operation, a member of Friendicoes told PTI that their group of volunteers rescued more than 150 dogs and over 10 cows and calves within three days from the flood-hit areas.
There are 10-15 Friendicoes volunteers spread across Delhi-NCR and are carrying out the rescue operations, the Friendicoes member told PTI. “We rescued dogs from Mayur Vihar, DND Road, east Delhi, Sector 135 in Noida. We tried covering the whole stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi-NCR as much as possible. More than 150 dogs have been rescued in the past three days.” House of Stray Animals also pitched in to rescue the distressed animals trapped in the low-lying areas of the national capital and moved at least 300 dogs to safety.
The NGO has also set up a medical camp at Sector 135 in Noida for the animals being rescued.
“We rescued the animals trapped in the low-lying areas and moved at least 300 dogs to safety. We also rescued 10-12 buffaloes from Sector 135, Noida. A medical camp has been set up to treat the rescued animals,” the NGO’s founder Sanjay Mohapatra told PTI.
The situation in Delhi could worsen if predictions of more rain in the national capital and the river’s upper catchment areas come true. In case of more rain in Delhi, experts said, stormwater may overflow and take longer than usual to flush out. Waterlogging could further compound the situation.
The city has been grappling with waterlogging and flooding for a week now. Initially, a downpour caused intense waterlogging on July 8 and 9, with the city receiving 125 per cent of its monthly rainfall quota in just two days. PTI ABU SZM
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