Crowding, hardship shadow life in Delhi’s flood relief shelters

At one of the largest facilities in Mayur Vihar, officials said more than 1,300 people were being housed and provided with round-the-clock food and basic amenities, and new tents are being pitched to accommodate the rising influx

Four days after the Yamuna swelled past the danger mark and forced thousands from their homes, relief camps across Delhi have become a fragile refuge — offering food and temporary shelter, but also crowding, hardship and the looming fear of what awaits when the waters recede.

People queue to receive aid distributed by civic authorities at a makeshift relief camp in Mayur Vihar on Saturday. Officials and residents alike fear that health risks will worsen once floodwaters subside. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

According to Delhi government estimates, more than 18,000 people have been displaced in the city. In east Delhi, 7,200 residents are staying in seven camps, while 5,200 are spread across 13 camps in the northeast. A further 4,200 people are in camps in south-east Delhi, with additional camps are operational in north and Shahdara districts.

At one of the largest facilities in Mayur Vihar, officials said more than 1,300 people were being housed and provided with round-the-clock food and basic amenities, and new tents are being pitched to accommodate the rising influx.

For many, this year’s floods carry grim echoes of the devastation in 2023. Annapurna Kumari, now living in a Mayur Vihar camp with her husband and children, said they have lost almost everything. “It will take months for us to buy clothes, utensils and furniture again,” she said. “Here we at least have food and a roof, but once we return, everything has to be rebuilt — even groceries, notebooks and school uniforms.”

Others were less fortunate in finding space. Rajesh, a daily wage worker earning ₹13,000 a month, said his family of seven reached Mayur Vihar too late to secure tents. “We put together a shelter with sticks and a plastic sheet,” he said. “I can’t afford both rent and food. Our winter clothes are gone in the floodwaters — I don’t know how we will manage in the coming months.”

For Ghuna Devi, a vegetable grower whose home on the Yamuna floodplains was demolished in an anti-encroachment drive earlier this year, the disaster has compounded old wounds. “We were already living under a shed, and now everything is gone again,” she said. “There are mosquitoes, toilets are a problem, hygiene is bad — but at least here we get food. It takes weeks to clear the knee-deep mud before we can even start cleaning our homes.”

Parents said they were deeply worried about their children’s education. “My daughters are managing with one set of school uniform since everything else has washed away,” said Rani, who is staying in Mayur Vihar. “It’s hard to keep clothes clean with the little water supply from tankers.”

Officials and residents alike fear that health risks will worsen once floodwaters subside. “The camps are already at capacity. People are vulnerable to waterborne diseases, and electricity meters and wiring in our homes are destroyed,” said Ram Kumar, a labourer staying in one of the camps.

Beyond the camps, neighbourhoods along the river remain buried under sludge. In Civil Lines’ Bela Road, residents said the water had receded by Friday night, but foul-smelling silt covered homes and streets. “Cleaning will take days before anyone can move back,” said Vijender Kumar Shukla, who works at the Hanuman Temple there.

The ripple effects are spilling into daily life elsewhere too. In northeast Delhi’s Usmanpur, commuters complained of traffic bottlenecks as displaced cattle moved onto the main roads. “My 15-minute commute now takes half an hour,” said Vivek Gautam. “With cattle blocking one side, it’s unsafe to drive.”

For families in the camps, though, traffic delays are the least of their concerns. Survival for now depends on tarpaulin roofs, community kitchens and the hope that the Yamuna’s retreat will soon allow them to begin again; however slowly, however painfully.