It has been a month since contaminated water from Buddha Nullah overflowed into Dhoka Mohalla, submerging homes under 3–4 feet of floodwater on September 1. Residents are still struggling to recover, with damaged belongings, structural damage to houses, and contaminated drinking water adding to their woes. Despite government visits for damage assessment, promised aid has not yet arrived.
“My kitchen was flooded. The fridge is damaged. All the groceries kept in the kitchen — flour, rice, pulses, etc — were damaged. We stayed without food for around two days,” said 40-year-old Taran, whose house is situated on street number zero, just 50 metres from Buddha Nullah.
“A bed, mattress, quilts, clothes, and the washing machine in my small house have also been destroyed in the floods,” Taran said, adding that almost all houses in the lane suffered similar damage.
Poonam Chadda, a local resident who runs a small grocery store from her home, said, “My house is very narrow and there is no place for the sunlight to enter so that we could dry our furniture and bedding. The bed has started to rot.” Besides household losses like fridges and washing machines, she lost stock from her store.
“We have suffered a lot of damage. It will take us a long time to recover. We need the government to chip in with some aid to help us recover,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}“We have suffered a lot of damage. It will take us a long time to recover. We need the government to chip in with some aid to help us recover,” she added.
{{/usCountry}}A few days ago, government officials visited the area to assess the damage. “Some 5-6 days back, two officials had come and asked us about what we had lost. They took our Aadhaar cards. They said that we’ll get some monetary help soon. They didn’t tell us anything else,” Taran said.
He also highlighted a growing concern: “The officials took samples of water from the homes in the neighbourhood. Since the flooding, the drinking water has turned contaminated as well. According to them, we must run the motor for over an hour so that contaminated water could be removed. If we run the motor for over an hour every day, won’t it affect our electricity bills?”
Deputy commissioner Himanshu Jain said that the damage report had been prepared: “We have prepared a damage assessment list and have sent it to the government for further action.” However, he did not give a time frame for when affected people would receive the promised relief.