No power, Civil Lines residents leave houses, helps behind

Located quite close to the Yamuna’s eastern banks, this area, housing massive kothis, had seen National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) boats rescuing residents and their pets in 2023 as the rising water level of the river led to flooding.

This time, however, water spared the main road and a posh lane, remaining limited to the service lane along the main road at Civil Lines.

Meanwhile, Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Parvesh Verma on Friday refuted claims that Yamuna water had entered Civil Lines, stating: “It is only waterlogging caused by rainfall. The bell mouths of drains along the roads in the Civil Lines area were closed as a preventive measure to ensure Yamuna river water does not enter the roads.”
“Between the Yamuna and Civil Lines area, there is a wide slip road, which is about 10 feet below the Ring Road. There is waterlogging on that slip road that we are trying to pump out,” said the minister.

Manju Gupta, who stays inside the lane where water did not enter this time, was on Friday, however, all set to shift to another property — at least for some days. “Without electricity everything comes to a halt,” Manju said.

“There is no electricity for the last three days. Our inverters gave up yesterday. Getting these generators was the only way to stay back,” said 40-year-old Siddhant Sethi, another resident.

In a statement on Friday, power utility Tata Power-DDL said: “Due to rising water levels of Yamuna and the increased possibility of flooding, Tata Power-DDL is switching off power supply in low-lying areas near the Yamuna as a precautionary measure to safeguard public safety. The temporary power shutdown is being implemented to prevent electrical accidents and ensure the wellbeing of all residents in vulnerable localities.”

At the service lane, the water is now receding but still touches the ramps of bungalows.

Mukesh Sharma, a security staff at one such bungalow, said his financial condition does not let him say ‘no’ to his job even when the area is flooding. “I earn Rs 10,000 per month. I spend half of it on rent. How can I say no to this job? All the residents are gone — leaving us, the workers, behind. I have to stay outside the house. There is a small area under a shade for me to take shelter each time it rains heavily,” Sharma, 55, said.

Sonu said he and three others, who work at another house in the neighbourhood, are sleeping almost all day now. “That’s how we spend our days now as we don’t have anything else to do.” Sonu recalled that around three days ago, they were struggling to protect furniture and other things from water. The rooms on the ground floor are all dark. Sofas have been placed on the dining table. Water is still stuck in a low-lying verandah of the house. The floor of the house is still muddy, reminding Sonu of how during the past couple of days there was knee-level water inside the house.

Addressing concerns about flooding in Monastery Market, Yamuna Bazaar, Vijay Ghat, Qudsia Ghat and other such areas, Verma said a solution will have to be found because these are directly on floodplains.

“The Monastery Market is directly on the river; the houses and slums where the river water enters are all unauthorised. Yamuna did not impact the traffic of Delhi, nor did it reach anywhere near the Supreme Court like it did in 2023. We made sure that the drains were stuffed with sandbags, hence the rainwater could not pass further,” Verma highlighted.

Although the river has risen above the 207-metre mark at the Old Yamuna Bridge, the minister emphasised that traffic and other services remained unaffected.

(With PTI inputs)