Delhi floods: AAP ministers set to take up district-wise relief work in Capital

The 22km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi passes through six districts, parts of which are flooded by river or due to the backflow of drains

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called a meeting of all six of his ministers and directed them to take charge of six districts in the Capital inundated by floodwaters from the Yamuna in a bid to strengthen relief and rehabilitation efforts for around 25,000 people displaced or affected by rising water levels of the river.

Swathes of land are seen inundated with water from the swollen river Yamuna in New Delhi on Saturday. (AP)

The 22km stretch of the Yamuna in Delhi passes through six districts, parts of which are flooded by river or due to the backflow of drains. The remaining five districts of the Capital have not been inundated by floodwaters.

“The CM distributed the charge of southeast district to home minister Kailash Gahlot, east district to irrigation and flood control minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, northeast district to revenue minister Atishi, north district to social welfare minister Raaj Kumar Anand, central district to food and civil supplies minister Imran Hussain, and Shahdara district to development minister Gopal Rai. Each minister will be accountable and responsible for providing essential services, including food, water, electricity, medical aid, and other necessary facilities in the relief camps within their respective districts,” the chief minister’s office said in a statement.

The Bharatiya Janata Party, however, accused the AAP of hijacking relief efforts. The party’s Delhi unit spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said, “Over the last five days, Kejriwal did not give tents or relief materials to the displaced. Today, when the chief secretary announced a list of officers to ensure immediate proper relief for flood victims, the CM jumped in with his list of district in-charge ministers. This is nothing but a political hijack of the relief set up created by officials.”

During the meeting, Kejriwal assessed the flood situation in Delhi and delegated various responsibilities to the ministers. “The Delhi government has established relief camps in all six districts of the city. The chief minister has directed the concerned ministers to look after all required facilities, including accommodation, food, drinking water, electricity, and medical assistance, to the people in these camps,” Bharadwaj said.

After the meeting, Atishi issued an order, which said the six ministers will supervise and monitor rescue, relief and rehabilitation work in the districts assigned to them. “Chief minister has directed in the all-ministers’ meeting today that in view of the current flood situation in the city, all the ministers will monitor and supervise all kinds of the rescue, relief and rehabilitation work in the respective revenue district,” she said in the order.

Earlier in the day, Kejriwal said in a tweet that the water level in Yamuna is receding. “The water level in the Yamuna River is gradually receding. If there is no heavy rainfall again, the situation will normalise soon. Water extraction has been initiated from the Chandrawal and Wazirabad water treatment plants. After which, the machines will be dried. Both plants will hopefully be operational by tomorrow. Please exercise caution and help each other,” he posted.

Kejriwal also urged people to not go to play or swim in the water and also do not wade into the floodwater to take photos and videos.