New Delhi: Tenzing Dawa is vexed. His septuagenarian father, who has a heart disease, needs a sterile environment and oxygen to survive. But due to the swollen Yamuna, his neighbourhood is partly submerged in water with no electricity or drinking water and is threatening his father’s life.
“We can’t give him oxygen, there is no supply of fresh water and no electricity since Wednesday. Portions of houses, shops and streets have been damaged,” Dawa, a resident of Majnu ka Tila in north Delhi, told IANS.
Many low-lying areas in east and northern Delhi are inundated due to the rise in the levels of the Yamuna river, which touched the 207.25 metre mark late Wednesday, the highest since 1978 when it reached 207.49 metres. The flood water has spilled over to the major arterial roads that run along the river.
Over 900,000 cusecs of water has been released into the Yamuna from Hathinikund Barrage in Haryana in the last four days, resulting in the river’s water level rising. A man drowned in the swollen river while bathing near Majnu ka Tila Wednesday, an official said.
The 145-year-old double decker rail-cum-road bridge over the Yamuna was shut down for traffic for two days due to fears of damage by the river’s strong current. The bridge was re-opened Thursday.
Nearly 5,000 people have been evacuated so far from low-lying areas like Usmanpur, Yamuna Bazar, Bhajanpura, Shastri Park and Tibetan Market, and shifted to about 900 relief camps set up by the city government.
On Thursday, officials said the water is receding in the Yamuna, but continues to flow over the danger mark as hundreds of vicarious onlookers thronged the various bridges across it to watch the river in spate.
One of the worst affected is the Tibetan Market near Majnu ka Tila, where knee-deep water has forced the residents to move out to other safer areas. (IANS)