In Yamuna floodplains, displacement fear lingers

When water almost reached the charpai (cot) on which Rajkumari was asleep, she woke up to find nothing but water all around. Rajkumari, her husband Jai Singh and their two daughters live in Yamuna Khadar, a low-lying stretch of the Yamuna floodplains. Like many families in the area, they survive in makeshift jhuggis, cultivating vegetables or working occasionally as labourers in government-run plantations. At the Mayur Vihar relief camp, anxiety deepened as heavy rain pounded Delhi through the morning on Friday.

“We carried whatever we could on this rickshaw and rushed in knee-deep water to the relief camps on the main road,” Rajkumari recalled.

With the Yamuna swelling once again after heavy rains, hundreds of families, who moved to Delhi decades ago in search of work, are once more facing the familiar fear of displacement. Some have shifted to government-built shelters, while others prefer to remain close to their homes despite the risk of inundation.

Rukmani and her sister-in-law Neha Devi moved to a shelter on the main road 10 days ago. Their jhuggi sits dangerously close to the river’s edge. “Last year, all our belongings, including our children’s certificates, got submerged. This time we are being more careful,” Neha said.

But not everyone feels secure in these shelters. Some families have returned to their jhuggis, fearing theft at the relief camps. “Thieves steal our food, cylinders and bulbs. Who will protect us there?” said Imarti, a migrant from Lucknow who has lived in Delhi for over 20 years.

Imarti, who sells plants with her husband, now lives with her sister-in-law Kiran under a flyover bridge after their hut was flooded. “The water brings snakes, insects and mosquitoes. Every day is a struggle,” she said. Her children study in Classes 8 and 11, and she dreams of them moving beyond the life she has endured. “Two generations have lived here. Now the third should get a chance to do something different,” she said.

For families like hers, daily life is a delicate balancing act — between keeping their belongings safe, avoiding disease and braving the rains. “Sometimes it feels like we are living in the snakes’ jungle. They come into our homes because we are in their place,” Kiran said with a weary smile.

The problem is not just about shelter. At the relief camp in East Delhi’s Trilokpuri, 25-year-old trainee pharmacist Saurabh has been attending to a steady flow of patients. “Every day around 12-15 people come with fever, infections and cough-related symptoms. Four or five of them are usually children,” he said, adding that the cramped and damp conditions make people more vulnerable to illness.

Many residents complained of thefts inside the shelters. “Locals have stolen several bulbs from here. People are even afraid to stay in shelters because their belongings keep disappearing,” said a volunteer at the food distribution counter.

Many families worry they will once again be uprooted once the Yamuna’s water recedes. “When the flood came last year, we were shifted. When it receded, jhuggis were broken,” said Anil, a daily-wage worker at the camp. “This time too, we fear the same.”

Still, residents say they have little choice but to endure. “Our homes may be under water, but our lives are here. We will rebuild again, just like we did last year and the year before that...” he added.