Too much of a watershed moment

With the water level of the Yamuna river continuing to rise steadily past the danger mark and Haryana releasing more water from its Hathni Kund barrage, the capital has been set on high alert for floods, once again. Despite the city having experienced only light-to-moderate rainfall, intermittently, in the past two days, this situation has escalated.

Severe waterlogging in some parts of the city also continues to be reported. Every year, this situation becomes worse, showcasing that the drainage system present in Delhi is not sufficient to handle the monsoon. The poorly equipped infrastructure does not help either.

Khyati Arora, a postgraduate student from Delhi, feels that one mustn’t blame the officials alone as everyone is responsible for this. She says, “The authorities are responsible for not creating enough infrastructure to prevent such problems from coming our way. On the other hand, all of us are responsible for not maintaining that infrastructure and taking it for granted.” She then adds,  “A good infrastructure is a necessity in order to avoid the mental stress that we go through every time we have to get out of our houses in the rainy season. And, also, to have a healthy body, free of any water-borne diseases.”

Ambar, another city resident, is of the opinion that even with a light shower, areas like Central Delhi get clogged with traffic, just like a drain gets clogged with mud. “From the perspective of traffic, it was already bad, now it's about to get worse,” says Ambar.

Being on the road every single day and witnessing the rising waterlogging makes people question their security, opines Prachi Vashisht, a daily commuter who has to travel by road for work. She explains,  “With the rush hours and the traffic mixed with this issue, accidents are bound to happen. The government should acknowledge these issues as soon as possible. It is sad to see that even after years of development projects and policies, something as basic as drainage systems are seeing such a pathetic plight.” Talking about mitigating this issue, she comments, “We don’t need a yearly solution to this permanent situation. We need a permanent solution to this situation that has been happening for a year.”

The level of water in the Yamuna is predicted to rise to 207 metres, which is above the warning level at 204.5 metres. In an official statement, Chief Minister Kejriwal assured Delhiites’ relief by saying, “2,120 tents have been deployed on both sides of Yamuna, fully equipped with food water and toilets. 23,860 is the number of people who need safe evacuation.”