The capital is getting a facelift as it gears up to host the G20 meet on September 8, 2023. But the sprucing up is selective. Those residents of Delhi who have been displaced by the recent Yamuna floods and on-going development projects on its banks, are now living on public roads, and told to ‘stay out of sight’
https://ruralindiaonline.org/en/articles/who-drowned-delhi/
It was the night of July 12, 2023. Days of heavy rains had caused the Yamuna river to rise, and those like Hiralal who lived on its banks in Delhi, had run out of time. “By morning, the water was everywhere. There were no boats to rescue us. People ran to the flyovers, wherever they could find dry land,” said Shanti Devi, 55, Hiralal’s neighbour in Bela Estate. A few weeks later, at their makeshift homes under the Geeta Colony flyover, the displaced survivors spoke to PARI. “ The authorities didn’t even make an announcement to tell us to move out in time. We’d already tied up our clothes, rescued as many goats as we could, we asked for a boat to save our animals but got nothing],” said Hiralal, speaking in early August.
Hiralal and Shanti Devi’s families have been living under the Geeta Colony flyover for almost two months now. They are compelled to intercept streetlights for their basic electricity needs in their makeshift spot under the flyover – just to light a bulb at night. Twice a day, Hiralal lugs 20 litres of drinking water on his cycle from a public water tap located in Daryaganj, 4 to 5 kilometres away.
They have not received any compensation for rebuilding their lives, and Hiralal, once a proud farmer on the banks of the Yamuna, is working as a construction labourer; his neighbour, Shanti Devi’s husband, Ramesh Nishad, 58, also a former farmer, is now standing in a long line of kachori (snack) sellers hawking wares on a busy road.
But even this immediate future is thrown into jeopardy as the government and Delhi gear up for hosting the G20 meet. Hawkers have been ordered to clear off for the next two months. “Do not be seen,” is what the authorities say.
by Shalini Singh
6/09/2023