NEW DELHI: 60-year old Usha Devi sits near the temple at one of the ghats in Yamuna Bazaar, reminiscing about the time she spent there. “My husband used to be a priest at the temple. He died while performing puja,” she said.
Her son still works as a priest at the temple and after the demolition drive, the family moved to a flat at Ankur Vihar. “By Yamuna Mata’s grace, three of my children are doing well in their lives and that’s why we are able to afford a flat,” she said, adding, “But that’s not the case for everyone here.” “I come here every evening after the demolition and spend some time on the banks of Yamuna. It gives me peace,” she added.
It has been two weeks since the bulldozers left Yamuna Bazaar, but for hundreds of families displaced by the Delhi Development Authority’s demolition drive, the struggle is only beginning. As they grapple with soaring rents and uncertainty over rehabilitation, many say that the absence of a permanent address has complicated the process of filling out their Special Intensive Revision (SIR) forms.
For families of priests who have lived on the Yamuna’s banks for generations, the loss is not just of a home but of a way of life. Even now, many come to the ghats every evening to sit by their ‘Yamuna Mata’, underscoring their emotional bond with the river and its banks.
The DDA carried out a demolition drive between Ghat No. 2 and 32 in the Yamuna Bazar area on June 25 to clear encroachments. The area was home to around 80 families, who were asked to move to nearby shelter homes. However, residents said they did not find the shelters safe to stay to live in with their families.
“Does the government think families, especially those with women, can live comfortably and safely in these shelters, which are often filled with alcoholics and thieves?” asked Manoj Sharma, one of the displaced residents. Sharma is currently living with his family in a locality near Kashmere Gate and is paying a monthly rent of `15,000, which he says is beyond his means.
Another resident, 78-year-old priest Suresh, who has also been an active part of the Yamuna Bazaar Panda Association, shared his plight since the demolition. “I have been unwell since that day. Being displaced from the place where I have grown up is painful,” he said.
Asked whether he was hopeful of getting a house for himself and his family, he replied, “I have no hope at all.”
However, one of the issues the septuagenarian highlighted was the difficulty in filling out the Special Intensive Revision forms. “Due to lack of a permanent address, we are facing complications in filling the SIR forms,” he said.
The last notice was issued by the authorities on June 23. It stated, “The residents of Yamuna Bazar Ghat No. 2 to 32 are informed that, as per the directions of the National Green Tribunal, the floodplain area of River Yamuna falling under the jurisdiction of Delhi Development Authority is to be freed from all types of encroachments.”
A month before, the Delhi Development Authority and the Delhi Disaster Management Authority had pasted similar eviction notices in the area, which has been identified as ‘O-Zone.’ The area has been designated a protected, no-construction floodplain under the authority’s management.