Who is ultimately responsible for the dire situation arising out of the floods in Delhi?

Due to the raging form of river Yamuna in the country’s capital Delhi, flood disaster is going on. The water level in the Yamuna river breaking the record of 207.49 meters in the year 1978 and increasing the water level to a new record of 208.66 meters, the country’s heart capital Delhi is forced to bear the brunt of floods. Today, 20 percent of Delhi’s population is suffering in one way or the other from the wrath of Yamuna’s water. The flood of Yamuna river is standing as a big challenge in front of the people living in the areas around Yamuna in Delhi.

Due to the raging form of the Yamuna river in Delhi, there has been a tremendous flood, a serious problem of water logging has arisen in the colonies of the city. Since then, there has been a huge political uproar in the country between the politicians on the flood of Delhi. No political party active in Delhi politics wants to lag behind in shining its politics on this occasion of disaster. But every year there is a discussion about the burning issue of why there is no proper management of flood protection in the country among the common man who is facing floods somewhere in the country, people are telling flood management as the need of the hour. . Anyway, according to a report of the United Nations, the average annual economic loss due to various types of disasters in the country is estimated to be $ 9.8 billion, out of which a huge loss of more than $ 7 billion alone occurs in the country. It happens only due to timely floods, which situation is very worrying for all of us and on which we and our country’s system should take immediate effective steps to control it in time, because for a poor country like India It is very important to get rid of such a huge financial loss every year.

Anyway, ever since indiscriminate urbanization has increased rapidly in the country, since then it is becoming a common thing to become a flood-like environment in urban areas only after a little rain. Because of this, serious problems like floods immediately arise in Delhi as well as in other cities of the country even after heavy rains for the last few years. In the blink of an eye, a sudden flood in the country seems to be ready to take away life and property coming in its way by the flow of water. Although a flood is actually an overflow of river water that submerges the normally dry land and the situation does not suddenly become critical when the river banks are inundated, people have to save lives and property from the flood. Gets plenty of time. Anyway, as the water level of any river increases, in the same way, the problem of flood on the ground also becomes serious, so it is always very important to be alert during the rainy season in the flood affected areas.

Ever since the water level of the Yamuna river in Delhi has reached 208.66 meters, due to which floods have created havoc in 6 districts of Delhi, the whole world is watching the floods in Delhi. However, according to the records of the ‘Central Water Commission’, this year the highest water release from Hathnikund Barrage in Yamunanagar was 3.59 lakh cusecs, whereas in the years 2019 and 2013 more than 8 lakh cusecs of water was released, but even after that from Yamuna river Except for the low-lying areas, the flood situation was not so bad, in such a situation, it becomes important for the system as well as the common man of the country to understand why Delhi has been flooded. However, it is a matter of relief that relief and rescue work has been done by the central and state government at the right time, due to which there has been no loss of life in the flood. 2700 relief camps have been set up by the government for the displaced. For relief and rescue, 16 teams of NDRF are continuously working in the flood-affected areas, as per the need, the army is also discharging its responsibility. About 23 thousand people have been rescued from the flood affected area. Despite all this, many problems have arisen in front of the people of Delhi, three water treatment plants supplying drinking water in Delhi have been closed, due to which Delhi is facing drinking water crisis due to getting 25 percent less drinking water. On the other hand, due to the closure of Ring Road and other flood-affected roads, Delhi is facing the problem of severe traffic jams at various places. Yamuna Bank Metro Station has been closed, Metro speed has been reduced on the bridge. On the other hand, along with the slums built in the river bed, along with the posh colonies of Delhi and other very important places, ITO, Rajghat, Red Fort, Civil Lines, Model Town, Yamuna Bazar, Monastery, Kashmir Gate, ISBT, Nigambodh Ghat, Ring Road, Old In areas like Fort, Garhi Mandu etc. the flood waters are standing still.

In the midst of this flood-hit situation, a question is constantly burning in the minds of the countrymen that who is ultimately responsible for the flood situation in the country’s capital Delhi, people are busy searching for the answer to this question on a large scale. By the way, before blaming anyone, we ourselves also have to peep into our own neck, by the way, the most accurate answer to this question is that through our system, cleaning of the Yamuna river bed in Delhi was done. Gross negligence and large-scale encroachment by the public in the Yamuna river belt is mainly responsible for creating this situation. Due to which the Yamuna river which used to flow near the Red Fort has changed its course rapidly, as well as allowing encroachments in the river bed due to petty vote bank politics, the place of consumption of Yamuna’s water is shrinking rapidly in Delhi. Due to which a flood situation arises in Delhi very soon.

While reducing the width of this river bed, the Yamuna has been made very narrow by tying it by making a bank, so that it rises very quickly after a little rain and starts appearing in its fierce form. On the other hand, in the name of development, we ourselves have done the work of blocking the uninterrupted flow of 22 km long Yamuna river in Delhi, 25 bridges built in the 22 km long area from Wazirabad to Okhla have created a major obstacle in the flow of Yamuna river. Let’s work. The depth of the Yamuna river is decreasing every year in Delhi due to the accumulation of silt in the foothills of the Yamuna river, which is cleared in the files every year due to the system steeped in corruption, due to which the Yamuna river overflows after a little rain. It happens. Whereas in Delhi, 22 drains are inserted in the 22 kilometer long Yamuna river, these drains filled with the filth of Delhi work to block the flow of the Yamuna by mixing it with mud, let us tell you that only 2 percent of its total length 80 percent of the dirt in Yamuna river flowing in Delhi falls into Yamuna river through drains in Delhi itself, which is a very worrying situation. On the other hand, the Yamuna river travels a distance of about 180 kilometers from the Hathini Kund barrage of Yamunanagar in Haryana to Delhi. Due to the narrowing of the Yamuna river bed due to silt and encroachment, the water released from the Hathini Kund barrage in Delhi earlier was about four kilometers. It used to take days, but now it reaches in just two days, due to which a flood-like situation is created in Delhi in a very short time. So the people giving birth to all these factors in Delhi are responsible for the floods in Yamuna river.

Deepak Kumar Tyagi

(Senior journalist, columnist and politician)