As river recedes, city begins clean-up, counts its losses

NEW DELHI: With the water level of the Yamuna receding, Delhi government agencies have begun cleaning operations in parts of the Capital that were inundated with floodwaters, as those affected count their losses and return to their shops and homes

- Sadia Akhtar

While the Public Works Department (PWD) started pumping out water and clearing the sludge on roads, shopkeepers have also begun shelling out money and roping in private workers to clean their shops.

In north Delhi, water receded from houses at Civil Lines and Monastery Market, leaving behind heaps of sludge. PWD workers were seen pumping out water in these areas.

Shopkeepers in these areas said they have suffered heavy losses, adding that the scale of destruction was unprecedented. “We are paying private contractors and getting the market cleaned. Until the mud is cleared, we cannot open our shops. The water supply continues to remain disconnected. The electricity connection also needs to be resumed. Every shopkeeper here has incurred losses amounting to lakhs, and now we have to pay to get back on our feet and resume work,” said Salahuddin, a shopkeeper at Monastery Market.

HT reached out Delhi government agencies over these concerns of residents and shopkeepers but did not get a response.