India floods: People moved to safe places, traders mourn loss as Yamuna swells to all-time high in Delhi

“This is like Venice,” a shopkeeper at north Delhi’s Monastery market said on Wednesday as the area was flooded, with locals scampering to salvage clothes, utensils and other objects.

The Monastery market is one of the many places that have been affected due to the Yamuna river swelling to a record high. The water level in the river rose to 207.71 metres in Delhi at 4pm on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978, government agencies said.

According to officials, Garhi Mandu village near the Signature Bridge in Wazirabad is submerged. A majority of the people have been taken to safety and the rest are being evacuated using boats, they said.

Local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Ajay Mahawar said water has entered the houses of the residents of Garhi Mandu and Usmanpur villages.

“The power supply was cut off around 4 am as a precautionary measure and people were assisted to move to safer places. The problem is that many of them do not want to leave their houses despite the flood. We are also providing them food and distributing relief material through boats,” he added.

The Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) headquarters is flooded and the employees were seen wading their way through the water accumulated at the entrance to get into the office.

Videos of the DTC headquarters located at Indraprastha showed people folding their trousers and holding their shoes in hand before entering the building.

“Earlier, the situation would be this bad only when it rained for days. But this time, there is knee-deep water inside the headquarters. Adding to our woes, it also contains sewage water,” a DTC employee told PTI Video.

According to officials, the DTC headquarters building has been in need of repair for a long time. Constructed in 1958, the redevelopment project of the headquarters and bus depot has been a long-standing proposal that has not achieved fruition till now, they said.

The shopkeepers at the Monastery market were busy shifting their goods.

“The government has not done anything. Our goods have been destroyed. This is like Venice,” one of them said, pointing towards the flooded market.

Another man who runs a garments shop in the market said he had shifted the clothes to another shop owned by him in the area.

“Some people have kept their goods at a height. But if the water level rises further, they will be doomed. The Yamuna is flowing just behind the market. The water level has been rising since 9 am. No government team has come to our aid so far,” he added.

Himachal Pradesh Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that the flash floods have damaged the national highway and disrupted water and electricity supply.