Floodwaters blur Delhi’s class lines, but inequality persists in hardship
The well-to-do have left their houses and some have even kept their domestic workers to guard them. The poor have taken shelter in roadside camps and footpaths
In the course of everyday life, there is little in common between the lives of the residents of the upscale bungalows of north Delhi’s Bela Road and those in the cramped lanes of nearby Yamuna Bazar, where many security guards and domestic workers stay.
Yet, over the past three days, their lives have been tragically brought together by the rising water of the Yamuna, which has blighted their lives in similar ways, though with vastly different consequences. The well-to-do have left their houses and some have even kept their guards or domestic workers back to guard them. The poor have taken shelter in roadside camps and footpaths with little to their name.
Bela Road
Lawyer Eshaa Sangal’s predicament began on Wednesday afternoon, when heavy rainfall lashed the area. By 3am on Thursday, water had started rising. “At night, the area got flooded and nobody could leave on foot or through a car. The electricity was cut off and we were trapped inside our houses. Since we have an underground tank, there was no access to water,” she said.
The family of five people had lived in a sprawling three-floor bungalow on Bela Road for more than two decades. “On Thursday, we survived with hardly any water, no electricity and no WiFi. We finally decided to leave on Thursday evening,” she said.
Sangal said her 96-year-old grandfather was stuck on the first floor for hours. “It [the rescue] took more than 10 hours. We called PWD, NDRF, police… everyone but nobody came to help us. We had no internet and our electricity was cut off. We finally managed to call the Civil Lines boat club. The rescue was done by our staff,” she said.
Some of the staffers stayed back while others left.
Sangal’s grandfather was put on a wooden chair and carried down the staircase their staff and family members. “We had no time to pack. We took our clothes, medicines and food for my two pets. While leaving, all I could see was two-feet water inside my house. My office was destroyed,” she said. They have now moved to their relative’s house in central Delhi . The staff has moved to “another place”, she said.
Near the Sangal house live the Guptas, who own a major saree showroom chain in the Capital. “We knew the flooding would get worse as we have already faced it in 2023. It started on Wednesday around 4pm. My father in law had to walk in waist-deep water. He somehow managed to reach home from the office. My husband too struggled to reach home. We started calling the PWD and other officials. Nobody responded,” said Akshita Gupta.
Gupta said they realised they had to leave on Thursday morning. The family called all the e-rickshaw and auto rickshaw drivers they could. “One of them luckily responded but was not ready to come to Bela Road. We offered to pay him a lot more. We finally left in two hours,” she said. They are now staying at a relative’s place in the Capital’s central parts, abandoning their house of two decades.
Another neighbour, architect Arpita Dayal, a professor at the School of Planning and Architecture, had thought preparing after the 2023 floods would help her, but was mistaken.
“After the 2023 floods, we did everything to stay updated. We made groups, spoke to the MLA, stayed in touch with PWD and other agencies. We wrote them letters, emails and even met officials. All in the hope that they would understand that we live in a low-lying area with a very very weak drainage system,” she said.
That was not to be. On Thursday, the Dayal family left in boats arranged by local residents. “It’s been more than two days. Our houses are old and the structure is getting weak due to the water.” she added. They’re now at Dayal’s brother’s residence in central Delhi.
The Public Works Department (PWD) said it has deployed five high-capacity pumps to drain water from Bela Road, stationing them near Qudsia Bagh. Since Bela Road is a low-lying area, “it’s not technically feasible to use tractor-mounted pumps there”, the department said. “Because the tractors aren’t visible on the road, some residents may have assumed no pumps were deployed,” the statement said. “In reality, the pumps are fully operational and draining water continuously,” it added.
PWD Minister Parvesh Verma said the situation was under control and advised people to not panic. “ I want to assure people that areas like Civil Lines and Monastery Market are absolutely fine. While these areas are located on the Yamuna floodplain and were built illegally, we are not removing anyone from there at the moment,” he said.
Yamuna Bazar
In the slums hardly two kilometres away from Bela Road, the situation is far more desperate.
Sunny Bhagat, a sewadar at a local temple, said his family of nine members have been living in a tent near Neel Chattri Temple with no electricity for three days.
“It’s an open tent. Even water seeps in… I have already lost my house. I saw a video of it in the news. I could only see a wall hanging in the room. My furniture, documents, fridge and cooler are all damaged. What will I do? We only had one hour to leave our house. Boats were right outside. We packed two bags and took some rice and utensils,” said Bhagat.
Babita Devi, 80, is a grandmother of three children. “I had to be dragged out because I was packing till the last minute. We had all our documents here. I had recently bought atta, rice and pulses. How could I leave it? Now, we don’t have anything. What will I do with utensils, boxes and clothes?” she asked.
For a family of eight people, they have one bed at the camp near Neel Chhatri temple, close to the Red Fort. Her son is sleeping on the footpath near the iconic monument.
Rama Sehdav said he lost both his 20-year old shop and house.
“I have three children and a cow. We are all staying on the roadside camp with no bedding. I managed to get a fan and some food,” he said. “But we don’t have a house to go back to.”
One of the guards at Bela House said that he is currently staying alone at his employer’s residence. “They initially didn’t want to leave and even arranged a generator, but it didn’t work. Eventually, they decided to leave because there are elderly members in the family. They asked me to stay back and look after the house. I’m on the first floor, waiting for power and water. Hopefully, it’ll be restored by Saturday,” he said, asking not to be named.
