Over 300 families face eviction at Delhi's Yamuna Bazar Ghat, asked to vacate in 15 days

The notice, issued by the office of the DDMA CEO, said, “Failure to comply would invite demolition of unauthorised structures.”

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Thursday issued eviction notices to 310 familiesof the centuries-old Yamuna Bazar Ghat area, near Kashmere Gate, giving them 15 days to vacate the area. The notice described the settlement as a “illegal encroachment” of the Yamuna floodplain in the O-Zone area and cited recurring flood risk as grounds for eviction. Residents, however, claimed that no formal survey of the area, where they have been living for generations, has been carried out and the move could impact their lives and livelihoods.

New Delhi: A resident shows a copy of the eviction notice served by the authorities, at Yamuna Bazar, Kashmere Gate area, in New Delhi, Thursday, May 7, 2026. (PTI)

In a series of notices pasted to the walls and doors and circulated through the narrow lanes of the riverfront colony, the DDMA cited Section 34 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005. It said the cluster face annual inundation whenever the Yamuna floods and continued occupation of the floodplain “constitutes a potential disaster risk”.

The notice, issued by the office of the DDMA CEO, said, “Failure to comply would invite demolition of unauthorised structures.”

There are 32 ghats in the area with around 310 residential structures, housing 1,100 people, a Delhi government official said.

“The floodplain stretch of the Yamuna Bazaar ghats, located along the Yamuna river and within the walled area of Yamuna Bazaar, falls under the O-Zone category. The land belongs to the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and all construction activity in the area is strictly prohibited,” said the official.

The official further said that the area gets submerged when the Yamuna floods, typically during monsoon, every year. The situation was particularly dire in 2023 and 2025, when the river swelled over the danger mark of 208 metres. “It poses a serious threat and, during such situations, the revenue department has had to undertake temporary evacuation and rehabilitation measures, putting additional pressure on public resources.”

“The NGT has directed the DDA to take necessary action regarding encroachments on the Yamuna floodplains,” the official said, adding that, on Thursday, 26 notices had been served to occupants in the area.

Responding to queries, a DDA spokesperson said the action “is as per high court directions to remove encroachment on O-Zone.”

However, residents said the notice came without any warning and the last time the area witnessed demolition activity was in 2006, when ghat number 1 was removed by the DDA.

Suresh Chand Sharma, president of the Yamuna Ghat Panda Association, which represents all priest families of the area, said residents would move court against the eviction order.

“It is completely illegal as we have old records, papers and maps going back decades to show that these ghats have been allocated to us. We have sewer, water and electricity connections too. We don’t mind if a survey is done and the encroachers are removed without displacing the original people of this land,” he added.

Under Delhi’s Master Plan, the Yamuna riverfront falls largely within the O-Zone, which covers the river and adjoining floodplains intended primarily for ecological conservation, river-related activities and regulated public use. Construction and habitation in large portions of the floodplain are restricted under planning norms. Over the past two years, DDA and other agencies have carried out multiple anti-encroachment drives across stretches.

Residents vow legal fight

At the Kashmere Gate ghats, however, residents insist their settlement predates many modern planning regulations and forms part of the historic and religious landscape of the Yamuna riverfront. Through the day, groups of residents gathered along the ghats discussing legal options and the uncertainty ahead. Many said they were unwilling to leave unless rehabilitation and a formal survey process were undertaken.

Stretching a little over a kilometre along the Yamuna banks, between ghat numbers 2 and 32, the settlement presents a striking contrast to the dense chaos of Old Delhi nearby. Boats painted in bright yellow, blue, and red remain moored along, what are usually, calm waters. Narrow paved lanes lead to old river-facing homes, tiny shrines, temple courtyards, and stepped ghats shaded by peepal trees.

Residents said the locality houses around 2,000 people, including priests, boatmen, barbers and tenants, and around 1,200 registered voters. According to locals, around 60 to 70 priest families were formally allotted space along the Yamuna during the British era in 1934. “No formal survey of households and families been conducted by any agency till now,” said a resident, asking not to be named.

Sitting outside his river-facing home near one of the ghats, Sunil Sharma said his family has lived along the Yamuna for more than a century. “My family’s seventh generation is living here...My family came and settled along the Yamuna in 1913 and the British formally allotted this area in 1934 to the originalpriest families, who moved here around 1913.”

He added that every ghat has about one to three small temples, each allotted to a priest family.

“Moving us will impact our livelihoods and the source of our existence that we derive from Yamuna. It is like removing a fish from the water,” he added.

Sharma said residents have traditionally adapted to seasonal flooding. “Even when there are floods and the water fills up the banks, we move to our terrace, but the river has never claimed any life and no house has ever been damaged in these parts. Every child in this area knows how to swim like an expert. They have grown with the river.”

Ganesh Sharma, a boatman who ferries visitors along the Yamuna, said, “DDA can take the land back if it wants. However, due process should be followed.”