Yamuna flood recedes: Around 2,500 displaced by Mungeshpur drain breach still stranded

Evacuees said a portion of the embankment is yet to be fixed and living conditions in shelter homes are deteriorating

New Delhi

People continue to live in MCD camps. (Arvind Yadav/HT)

Around 2,500 residents of low-lying areas in west Delhi, chiefly Jharoda Kalan and Geetanjali Enclave, continue to remain stranded even as the Yamuna water levels have receded, as their localities continue to grapple with inundation due to a breach of the Mungeshpur drain, a sub-drain of the Najafgarh drain, five days ago.

Indra Kumar, a resident, said that while the water level has decreased, sludge and contamination are hindering residents from moving back and the situation will persist for a week. “Since the water level is not going down drastically, I have rented a room nearby; I will go back when things become normal,” he said.

Kumar said that a portion of the embankment is yet to be fixed and living conditions in shelter homes are deteriorating.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) councillor for the area, Amit Kharkhari, said that at least 550 people are currently living in a Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) school in Jharoda Kalan. “The water will take at least four to five days to recede; until then, it will not be possible for people to move back in. The embankment which broke out is also being fixed and will be completed soon,” he said.

Another resident, Anil Diwakar, who owns a three-storey house in Geetanjali Enclave, said that many residents have been rendered homeless. “I have moved back to UP for a few days, as I had nowhere to go. I’m in touch with neighbours and assessing the situation. I have not decided when to return,” he said.

Last Tuesday, Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta said she discussed the issue on phone with Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini and repair work of the Mungeshpur drain wall was being done on a war footing. “So far more than 2000 people have been shifted to safer places. Officials of both the states, in mutual coordination, are continuously shifting the local people from the affected areas to safer places and are engaged in relief work. Police, administration, DTC buses, NDRF, ambulance and rescue teams are deployed on the spot,” she had said.