Delhi flood: Civil Lines’s residents reliving ‘2023 horror’

Most families along Bela Road said that while generations of their families have grown up here, they are contemplating their long-term future here, given long power outages and waist-high levels of water for days

New Delhi

Waterlogging on Bela Road. (Arvind Yadav/HT Photo)

Residents of Civil Lines’ Bela Road said they are reliving their “2023 horror”, as the entire area continued to remain inundated for a second day in a row. During a spot check on Thursday afternoon, HT found water up to a height of four to five feet, blocking the doors of shops and making it impossible to cross over without wading into the dirty pool.

Arpita Dayal, an architect and professor at the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA), said that the flooding on the Bela Road forced their family to shift to their relatives’ house.

“The water level reached 5-6 feet on the road outside our homes. There has been no electricity in the area for the last two days. Inverters have failed. There is no Wi-Fi. It is like being trapped,” she said. “Kids have their examinations and this situation is so traumatic. Half of the family moved out yesterday and now, we have shifted out and boats were used to bring the elderly members of the family to the Ring Road.”

Most families along Bela Road said that while generations of their families have grown up here, they are contemplating their long-term future here, given long power outages and waist-high levels of water for days.

“There is still about four to five feet of water on the left turning for Civil Lines from Ring Road. Floodwater has also reached an electricity transformer, resulting in power being switched off for residents staying at Jamuna Road. Our power went off at 3am on Thursday, and as per our local NDPL staff, power may not be restored for a couple of days,” said Nitin Narain, a fourth-generation resident.

He recalled a similar ordeal just two years ago, remarking, “We were without power for a good 2-3 days! I hope that after this year’s incident, authorities will take some steps to prevent such incidents in the future!”.

Mallika Dua, a resident of the locality and a comedian, said, “I have lived here since 1997 and this is not an annual thing. However, the last few days have been very scary. The water started filling up two days ago and this happened in July 2023 as well. Peoples’ cars and houses were completely submerged.”

“I managed to get out in time. I got out from the side of IP College and St Xavier’s College, and took the Karol Bagh route. I am currently staying in a hotel at Lutyen’s Delhi, but this is not how it needs to be. A lot of people have shifted to hotels and others have rented huge generators to tackle the power cuts,” she said.

A shopkeeper, Suraj (goes by first name), who was running a tea shop along Bela Road, right where the current waterlogging ends, said, “The water had come up to my shop and I was very scared because this would mean loss of business. However, thankfully, the water went down a little and my shop is safe for now.”

A spokesperson for Tata Power-DDL acknowledged that the outage was a necessary safeguard.

“This temporary shutdown has been implemented to prevent electrical accidents and ensure the well-being of residents in these localities. Tata Power-DDL is working closely with disaster management authorities and will restore electricity as soon as conditions permit.”