Waterlogged homes, disrupted lives: Tiring wait for normalcy near Yamuna floodplains

However, the water level dropped below the danger mark — to 204.89 m at 12 am on Friday — according to the Central Water Commission.

This is the second time in a month that water levels of the river went past the danger mark. When the Yamuna crossed the danger mark earlier this month, thousands from the low-lying areas such as Yamuna Bazar, Majnu ka Tila, and Mayur Vihar were forced to take shelter in the relief camps.

While the Yamuna remained above the danger mark on Thursday afternoon, the water level subsided later in the day.

Even as the river’s water levels have been fluctuating, normalcy seems distant for people who have been affected.

“Yesterday night, water started entering our homes,” says Kajal Kohli (22), who has been living with five members of her family at the Shastri Park camp, as she recalled rearranging the belongings at her jhuggi to save them.

“We don’t know when we’ll return… it seems like the situation is getting better now, but these days there is a lot of uncertainty… Many of those who thought it is getting better had to suddenly rush to the camp,” she adds.

At the Mayur Vihar relief camp, which is the largest flood relief camp in the Capital, Madhuri (40), cradles her grandchild “Paisa dekhen ya jaan dekhen? (Should we worry about money or try to save lives?),” she asks. The child, aged around 5, had to be rushed to a hospital earlier this week after developing a fever, says Madhuri.

The medical staff at the camp has been seeing at least 5-6 cases of fever among children. Elders have complained of body pain.

Saurabh Kumar, a medical staff, says, “They are prone to illness this season… The people also repeatedly go back to the fields to check on cattle. We have stocked medicines for common illnesses.”

Some camp inhabitants like Neha Devi (39) have a different worry. “The water didn’t enter our jhuggi… but it destroyed the fields, which affected our farm produce,” she shares. Farmers like her, she adds, had been growing brinjals, gourds, and ladyfinger along the floodplains.

A week ago, on August 19, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta visited the residential areas at Yamuna Bazaar, assuring locals that the authorities were monitoring the situation closely. On Thursday, residents remained anxious as many homes were

waterlogged.

Saadu (50) laboriously clears sludge and muddy water out of his one-room home. His neighbour, Shailender, meanwhile, stacks bricks and sacks in front of his slum to block knee-deep water. “Last night, the water rose so high that I slept on the railway track,” he says.  Facing a similar plight, Premchand (55), who lives in one of the jhuggis in the area, returned to a waterlogged home after spending the night outside.

Ruby (25), a mother of two, adds, “Last night, a 15-year-old boy here narrowly escaped a snake…There are no lights here…We have to wade through the water in the dark. There are mosquitoes everywhere…and health issues like skin rashes on rise. But where else do we go?”

A local shopkeeper says, “Last week, a camp was set up but it was removed once water level became normal. How can we blame the authorities for not setting up camps again.. when the locals themselves stole eight light bulbs and table fans from the relief camps?”

At  Sonia Vihar, the river’s water levels on Thursday remained slightly higher as compared to other areas. Bhupesh Gupta, a resident near Fourth Pusta, says most people depend on makeshift tents with mosquito nets, as the government camp is too small to accommodate the largely cattle-herding community.

Residents gathered by the river in the evening in large numbers  — many of them did not seem worried. Even as the river lapped close by, a couple stood quietly dispersing ashes into the river while another group of youth was busy talking, unperturbed, while absorbing the view.