Delhi locals flee inundated homes, clutching their pets

Cattle, dogs, cats, horses, even camels, were seen at the rescue camps where they were brought from the now-inundated banks

When 40-year-old Afsana and her family of six were rescued by an NDRF team from Vishwakarma Colony in southeast Delhi, the only valuables they brought with them were two kittens, Tinku and Minku, that the family has been taking care of for two months. One is black and the other brown, and Afsana said that they would have died without care. “We could not have left them. Over the last two days with the house flooded from all sides,” she added.

People wade through a flooded street along with their domesticated animals near Mayur Vihar in New Delhi on Thursday. (Raj K Raj/HT Photo)

As the rescue operations continued on Thursday, residents of the Yamuna floodplains rushed to save their pets. Cattle, dogs, cats, horses, even camels, were seen at the rescue camps where they were brought from the now-inundated banks.

Officials said that in many cases, the residents were forced to leave. “We get warnings every year but this year the level is high. Most people may be reluctant because they did not expect the level would increase so much,” said Dev, a civil defence volunteer. “We rescued a man with a calf who was waiting on the Mayur Vihar flyover. He said that he also had a cow, which he lost midway,” said Sandeep Dutta, SDM, Mayur Vihar.

Many also employed private divers to get their belongings and animals. Police said over 1,000 animals were rescued from Garhi Mandu village in north Delhi. One of them was 25-year-old Jitender who was rescued on after being stranded on a tree for nearly 22 hours. A flood report by the irrigation department said 34 livestock were rescued by NDRF on Thursday.

However, there was no officials count of the animals rescued in the past few days.