Delhi floods: Torn between relief camps and lost homes, families fight to survive

NEW DELHI: While the Yamuna's level slowly receded to 206.47 metres on Saturday, it is still above the danger mark. Households displaced from the low-lying riverside areas are torn between safety and the need to put their ruined homes back in order. They are weighing the urge to salvage whatever little is left of their dwelling against the risk of the floods.At the Old Railway Bri-dge relief camp, Rani, 30, has her temporary home with her husband and two children. A daily wage worker, she spent years collecting modest household items, only to see them vanish overnight. "My house submerged before my eyes. I was able to only take a few clothes for my children when I left for the relief camp. If I find more clothes there, I will collect them and be grateful to God," she said on Saturday.In Old Usmanpur, Devi, a mother of two, carried a bundle of clothes she had collected from her flooded shack. "The sight of my three-year-old lying in soiled clothes was unbearable," she explained. Hari Om, 49, who ran a cardboard carton business, saw his storehouse being submerged and has gone back, only to be deter-red by the river water even concealing the path to his house. "But I will go to see if there's anything for me to save," he declared.Officials voiced concern at these attempts. A Delhi Disaster Management Authority officer said, "Many families were reluctant to shift. They feared their belongings being stolen when away from home. I have been reminding them that material loss is nothing compared with loss of life." A municipal official echoed him. "They took so long to respond to our alerts and now they recklessly try to return to their wrecked homes," he said.Not surprisingly, police are struggling to stop the people from venturing ba-ck to their localities. "They keep hoping to be able to find something they left behind," said one weary offi-cer at the Shastri Park camp, who by noon had already turned back dozens attempting the return.On Saturday, TOI saw the cops also dispersing individuals attempting to immerse Ganpati idols in the swollen Yamuna.Some, however, are waiting patiently for conditions to improve. Mustakim Pradhan, who owns e-rickshaws near the Old Railway Bridge, said he ensured his workers' safety before trying to recover his three-wheelers. "Five are stuck in the water," he said dispiritedly. "If God wills, the river will subside and I'll be able to retrieve them."