Pandit Uttam Jyotishi, 60, quietly sat on the roof of his house at Yamuna Bazar, watching the area inundated by waters from the surging Yamuna. Next to him, under a shade, Ramkumari Devi was cooking food, trying to be oblivious of the surroundings.
They were not the only ones perched on top of their houses. Yamuna waters had partially submerged about 300-odd houses and hutments at Yamuna Bazar since Monday evening.
Uttam Jyotishi is a priest of a century-old Shiv temple, submerged in water with only the dome visible.
"We started moving our stuff upstairs since Monday midnight. There was no help from the administration to tackle floods here," said Ganesh Pandit, Uttam Jyotishi's son.
Clinging to his submerged hut, Anand Rao, who sells puja material, pointed to the Baba Balaknath temple in the middle of the river. Only its top was visible. "There is a belief, if this goes underwater, Delhi is doomed," he said with concern.
{{/usCountry}}Clinging to his submerged hut, Anand Rao, who sells puja material, pointed to the Baba Balaknath temple in the middle of the river. Only its top was visible. "There is a belief, if this goes underwater, Delhi is doomed," he said with concern.
{{/usCountry}}A few houses away, Hari Om Bhagat, a sales representative, said: "There is no power, which is understandable. But the government has not provided any emergency lights for us. There are snakes and scorpions."
He and his neighbours have to wade through at least 10-feet deep water to reach their houses.
While there have been no evacuation from this area — a relief camp has been put up — the government shifted more than 5,000 people from across Delhi.
Usmanpur in north east Delhi witnessed the maximum displacement. A relief camp was set up there too. Together, the government set up 19 camps and 500 tents at various locations.
In order to prevent electrocution, discoms suspended electricity supply to low-lying areas such as Vishvakarma Colony, Jaitpur, Dhobhi Ghat, Batla House, Badarpur Khader, Karawal Nagar, Yamuna Vihar, Garhi Mandu, Usmanpur and Bela farms areas.
The government kept ready 35 pumps, of which 24 were pressed into use. As many as 62 boats were ready but about a dozen were being put to use.
Farmers from Yamuna's islands and people from Wazirabad, Garhi Mandu, Badarpur and Batla House were evacuated.