Fear, anxiety grip Yamuna Bazar families amid looming eviction

Over a week after eviction notices were served on May 7 to 310 dwelling units in Delhi’s Yamuna Bazar residential cluster along the floodplains, 43-year-old Rajvati has spent sleepless nights worrying about her family’s future.

“We have lived by the grace of the river. Our family has survived due to it,” she said. Her husband is a priest who conducts last rites, a work carried through generations in his family. Like her, residents of the 32 ghats in Yamuna Bazar,  who have been residing there for generations and whose livelihood depends on the river, said they have nowhere to go.

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority on May 7 tasked the Delhi Development Authority with reclaiming the floodplain land. It termed the residential cluster “illegal encroachment” and asked the residents to vacate the area within 15 days. 

‘Didn’t vote for this’

Ms. Rajvati said they are hoping Chief Minister Rekha Gupta will save them. “We did not give our votes to become homeless,” she told The Hindu.

When floods hit during monsoons and their shanties are inundated, many residents temporarily move to nearby locations. “For the past two years, when the floods came, we went to the nearby school at Kashmere Gate for 15-30 days and then came back to our homes,” said 33-year-old Reena Devi, a resident of one of the ghats at Yamuna Bazar.

The fear of loss of livelihood that has revolved around the river generationally puts many at the crossroads. Aslam, 55, has spent 40 years crafting boats on the bank of the river. While he doesn’t stay on the floodplain, the river is his “bread and butter”. 

Bharat Lal Sharma, an 80-year-old priest, recalls 2006 when similar notices were issued. “We fought against it then and got a stay from the Delhi High Court,” he said, adding that now 20 years later, without any rehabilitation plans, the notice makes no sense