NEW DELHI: Around 6,000 residents of the Rawta village in the national capital are planning to flee the area because of inhabitable living conditions. Rawta has been underwater for days due to heavy rains and the overflowing Nazafgarh drain. Crops standing on acres of land are submerged in sewage water which has also entered their houses.
The people of the village localed on the Delhi-Haryana border are losing hope because of the government apathy to their plight. The villagers are worried about their health and safety as water-borne diseases might spread in the area. They are planning to leave the village. However, most of them do not know where to go and complain.
“If the government does not act in a day, we plan to start leaving our houses in the village and shift somewhere temporarily. Our entire crop is lost. People do not have jobs because of the pandemic. They were banking on a good crop to help them survive but all is destroyed. We have approached every department but no response,” said Rajnish Phalswal. He lives with his family of eleven in Rawta. While he works at a private company, most of his family members are into farming.
About 700-1000 acres of farmland, where rice was growing, is underwater owing to the overflowing of the Nazafgarh drain. According to locals, one end of the drain opens into the village area and untreated sewage flows from neighbouring Gurugram city. This time the heavy rains have added to the problem.
“People are already in a lot of problems after coronavirus. Now the rains and flooding is causing more problems. Even after six years in power, the CM is unaware of these longstanding problems,” said Paras Tyagi, President of Centre for Youth Culture Law and Environment, an NGO.