Kejriwal visits relief camp at Shastri Park

AAP national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal visited a flood relief camp in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park in the Trans-Yamuna region on Friday.

During the visit, he urged the Delhi Government to provide adequate relief material to the flood-affected people in the national capital, saying there have been delays in food delivery and setting up tents.

He was joined by AAP Delhi State president Saurabh Bharadwaj, MLAs Sanjeev Jha, Kuldeep Kumar, Vishesh Ravi, Som Dutt, councilor Sarika Chaudhary and other party leaders.

Holding the BJP government responsible for the flood-like conditions in the city, Kejriwal said desilting work was not carried out properly in the national capital. He said if the Centre could send relief materials to earthquake-hit Afghanistan, north India’s flood-hit states should also get help on time.

Speaking after meeting flood-affected people, he said: “For the past several days, Delhi has been facing flood-like conditions, with many areas inundated. Poor families living along the Yamuna have been forced to vacate their homes and shift to relief camps.”

Kejriwal said, “I met the affected people in Shastri Park relief camps and heard their problems. They are facing severe hardships. Food is not being served to them on time. There are mosquitoes everywhere. There is also a shortage of drinking water. People told me that tents were set up only on Thursday. Till then, they were forced to live in the open under heavy rain.”

He alleged that large parts of the city remained waterlogged because of the poor maintenance of drainage system. “One of the main reasons for waterlogging is that desilting work was not carried out properly. In many areas, sewer water is flowing back, causing distress to people. In several parts, drinking water supply has also been disrupted. We urge the government to provide maximum possible relief to the public,” he said.