Many flood-affected slum dwellers in national capital Delhi’s Mayur Vihar and areas around the old Yamuna bridge are forced to sleep in the open, defecate in the open and wait for the water level to recede under tarpaulins . These people living in shanties submerged in flood waters in low-lying areas claimed that they were not warned in advance, while many others alleged that even at this time they are not getting help from the administration. Pointing to the submerged slum under the Yamuna bridge, Seema, a 39-year-old woman, expressed grief and told how her hard work of 20 years went waste in just three days. Seema wept and said that for the last 20 years I have been working from house to house and spend every single penny of my earnings on my house and my children. Efforts and hard work of 20 years went waste in just three days.

No help other than a packet of milk

Seema claimed that apart from a plastic tarpaulin and a packet of milk, she did not get any other help from the government. He said that he was also not warned in advance about the rising water level of the Yamuna. Seema said that in the past the police used to warn us before the flood, but this time no one asked us to come out of the houses and now the whole colony is submerged in water. The government says a lot but does not give us anything. We got only a tarpaulin and a packet of milk. They said that they (government officials) came on Saturday and wrote our names, took all the information, but have not done anything so far. He alleged that the government talks about giving houses to slum dwellers, but it is trying to remove us from here. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had announced special relief measures including housing, food, water and toilets for the affected people on Sunday.

no food, no ration and no water

On Saturday, there were signs of decrease in the water level of Yamuna, but the relief work could go on for a short time as due to the late evening rains, water-logging again occurred on many roads. Recalling the 2013 floods in Delhi, 45-year-old Ashok, who lives on the banks of the Yamuna river in Mayur Vihar, alleged no help from the government. Ashok told that there was flood in the year 2013 also, but the situation was not so bad at that time. He said that last year too, after Diwali, water had entered our houses, but it soon subsided. But this time the water level was so high that the water touched the bridge as well. Ashok said that all the slums have been submerged and there is no drinking water. He said that neither food, nor ration nor water is being provided to the people by the government. He said that he did not even get a tarpaulin.

This time no one alerted

Ashok said that after the water subsided, he would have to go back there (basti) and fix everything by himself. Agreeing with Ashok’s view, 50-year-old Suresh alleged that whenever there was a flood-like situation in Delhi, he was warned in advance and sent to a safer place. Suresh claimed that this time no one alerted us. It’s been four days since we stayed here. When the water entered our houses, we came out on our own with very few belongings, no one helped us. He said that boats were sent yesterday to check whether anyone is trapped in the submerged slums. Suresh said that he bought a tarpaulin with his own money and when the water level recedes, he will have to spend thousands of rupees to repair the house.

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It will cost thousands of rupees to fix the house again

Suresh told that we bought tarpaulin with our own money. After the water level recedes, I will have to spend thousands of rupees to restore my house. There is no toilet facility for women, they are forced to defecate in the open. He has requested the administration to provide drinking water to the people in the flood-affected areas.