Low-lying parts of Yamuna’s northern, eastern banks in Delhi hit; rescue operation on

Boats have also been deployed along the floodplains for rescue operations — 47 boats are on standby, each located 2km apart

The water level of the Yamuna breached the 207.5m mark on Wednesday, breaking a 45-year record and leading to several neighbourhoods in low-lying areas of the Capital becoming inundated with floodwaters.

Firefighters and local residents rescue 120 cows stuck in a cowshed due to the floodwaters in Sector 168 in Noida on Wednesday. (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

Read here: From Wazirabad to Vikas Marg — Ring Road: Delhi’s key roads affected as Yamuna swells

The Delhi government has said areas around the Monastery Market, Yamuna Bazar, Garhi Mandu, Geeta Ghat, Vishwakarma Colony, Khadda Colony, the areas around Neeli Chatri temple near Old Railway Bridge, Neem Karoli Gaushala and a stretch of Ring Road from Wazirabad to Majnu Ka Tila are now flooded with Yamuna waters.

The government has sounded the alarm for people in low-lying areas to vacate their houses, noting that the water level may rise rapidly. Boats have also been deployed along the floodplains for rescue operations — 47 boats are on standby, each located 2km apart.

Majnu Ka Tila

This densely populated area, located along the Ring Road, flooded in the early hours of Wednesday. “Many people whose houses have been flooded have moved to hotels or to their relatives’ homes. They mostly helped themselves because no one came to help them,” said Wango, who runs a shop in the local market.

Another woman, who declined to give her name, said she had seen several snakes in the area. “The dirty water has also caused many people to develop skin allergies.

Central district ADM Atul Pandey said district teams have been running relief and rescue operations since the floodwaters entered homes.

Monastery Market

The Monastery Market is located close to the banks of the Yamuna on the Ring Road near Kashmere Gate. The market was completely flooded by Wednesday morning, triggering fear among the locals.

“The water started entering the market area last night, and by the morning the entire market was flooded. Some store owners had removed their wares in advance, but many could not do so. The total damage will be known only when the shops open after the flood water recedes,” said Dawa, a store owner.

A district official said sand bags were used to create a temporary embankment at the market gate to prevent flood water from entering the Ring Road. “The entire market was closed in advance,” the official said.

Ring Road

Floodwaters from the Yamuna reached the Ring Road stretch between Wazirabad and Majnu Ka Tila at around 3.30pm, leading to panic among the people living in nearby colonies such as Yamuna Bazar. “In the 10 years that I have been living here, I never saw floodwaters flow onto the Ring Road. The water level is rising very fast,” said Vinit Kumar, a resident of Yamuna Bazar.

By 4.30pm, whole patches of this stretch of the Ring Road were submerged under floodwaters.

Read here: Rising river water level leaves large areas vulnerable in Delhi

Jaitpur Extension

The Bulandshahr carnival with its 400 workers — eateries, shops, and amusement rides — was camped at Jaitpur Extension for the last 20 days as part of the Eid festivities. On Wednesday morning, however, members of the carnival found that water from the Yamuna was gushing around their camped area.

Layak Ram, 26, who is in charge of elephant rides, said that around 6am, farmers from the Yamuna fields started creating a hue and cry about rising floodwaters. “Initially, we did not pay much heed, but the water rose so fast that we could barely pick up anything,” Ram said.

Md Rais, 35, one of the managers of the carnival, said the group has lost equipment worth lakhs. “All motors are damaged, eatables have perished, and parts of the set up are now under water. We were about to move to the next city in five days,” Rais said.

Vishwakarma Colony

Around 3,000 houses in the neighbourhood, located along the Delhi-Haryana border, have been inundated by floodwaters from the Yamuna. In the absence of any tents or other relief arrangements, these families are either camping in local temples and mosques located on higher ground, or have moved to their relatives’ homes.

The lanes of this unauthorised colony, as well as the nearby Khadda Colony, filled with muddy waters on Wednesday morning. Those who lived in permanent structures fled — often leaving one family member behind to prevent theft — while those who lived in temporary structures fled with bag and baggage.

Shabnam, 40, a resident of Vishwakarma Colony’s D-block, said that the discoms cut the electricity supply of the entire area at around 9am to prevent any case of death by electrocution. “We are watching out for snakes, but we have nowhere else to move,” she said.

At the nearby Baba Vishwakarma temple — the house of worship from where the locality derives its name, Bibi Maryam, 60, said she was unable to pick up anything while fleeing her house. “We don’t even have water to drink. No relief arrangements have been made in this part of the city. There are families with elderly people and children,” she said.

Read here: Yamuna water breaches level hit during 1978 floods in Delhi

Around 4pm, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel started operating boats to rescue stranded people.