NEW DELHI: More than 70 families displaced by the Yamuna floods are living in makeshift tents along the Delhi-Meerut Expressway near Akshardham, struggling to survive amid harsh conditions. Forced to abandon their jhuggis and kuccha homes, they now face daily challenges in tarpaulin shelters.
Sitting outside her tent, Ganga Devi said, “It is either demolition, or rain and now the flood. We hardly earn Rs 300–400 a day cleaning Delhi’s garbage. Where will we go now?”
Inside 6x8 tents, clothes hang damp, refusing to dry in the rain. Kamlesh Kumar comforted his son, saying, “Only a couple of clothes are left and that’s what we wear.” Meena Kumari, a mother of three, added, “At night, when one child moves, the others wake up. We cook outside, but everything gets soaked.”
The camp runs parallel to the expressway, raising safety concerns. “We fear our children may run towards the highway. Who will stop a speeding truck?” said elderly Kapu Mukhiya.
Education has collapsed, with most children wandering or helping parents. Women cook lentils and rice on open stoves with limited relief rations. Ram Kumar, once a flower seller, said, “Mosquitoes bite, rain leaks in and we cannot lock our tents.” Officials said the Yamuna level stood at 206.47m, above the evacuation threshold of 206m, with agencies on alert.