Delhi flood: Batla House wakes up ankle-deep misery
Due to the high water levels in the Yamuna river, low-lying areas in southeast Delhi's Batla House were flooded, leading to the evacuation of residents.
With the water level in the Yamuna touching an all-time high on Wednesday, low-lying areas in southeast Delhi’s Batla House were flooded. Many families living on the river’s floodplains in and around Dhobighat spent the early hours of Thursday wading through ankle-deep water, evacuating their hutments and moving their belongings to other areas in the neighbourhood and the makeshift shelter at the government school in the area.
Shehzadi, 54, who lives close to the floodplains, said that although calls for evacuating the area were first made on Wednesday evening, she and others stayed put till Thursday morning since water had not entered the hutments. Around 5am, as water started entering her shanty, she started preparing for evacuation.
“By morning, the water had entered our house. We moved our belongings to the top shelves and by around noon, we were left with no option but to move to the relief centre,” said Shehzadi, who has lived in the area for more than two decades.
She was among the nearly 50 people that had taken shelter at the government relief centre until Thursday evening. In addition to documents such as the Aadhar card, she carried some bags with pots and pans and some buckets. However, Shehzadi rued that she had left behind many important possessions including her four goats. “I cannot stop thinking about my goats. They are locked inside the hut,” said Shehzadi.
Shayera, another area resident who took shelter at the relief centre, said, “This is the first time that I have seen such floods in Delhi. I was worried and just picked up one set of clothing and left the house when the water level started rising in the morning. We could not carry the cylinder and cannot cook food anymore. Food is not being provided either,” said Shayera.
Civil defence volunteers stationed at the site shared that nearly 50 people had reached the centre and the numbers were expected to increase. “We have been making announcements since last night, asking people to leave for their own safety. However, many of them are reluctant and have stayed put,” said a civil defence volunteer, who did not wish to be named.