As relief work by government agencies is running at a snail’s pace, some people including from the Muslim community have come forward to provide all sorts of assistance to the affected people
Team Clarion
NEW DELHI — With various parts of Delhi inundated in water, Muslims in different areas of the national capital have come forward to provide much-needed relief to the thousands of affected people.
The national capital and other parts of the country are witnessing floods due to incessant rains. In Delhi, the water level at Yamuna River rose to an all-time high on Thursday and water spilled over the populated areas around the river. The floods have severely affected public life as large swathes of the city have been water-logged. Schools, colleges and government offices have also been shut down.
As relief work by government agencies is running at a snail’s pace, some people including from the Muslim community have come forward to provide all sorts of assistance to the affected people.
Journalist Ashraf Hussain on Friday posted some videos of the relief work undertaken by civilians. A group of Muslims is seen distributing food items under the banner of National Aid. They can be seen handing out water bottles and biscuits to the hundreds of people housed in a tent after being forced to evacuate their hearths and homes.
“We have so far distributed twenty carton packs of water bottles to people here,” said one volunteer.
Another volunteer said people are mostly facing a shortage of potable water and clothes. The second big problem is that all three water plants in Delhi have been shut down in view of the floods. This has increased the scarcity of water in the city. It will remain the same for a few days more, he said.
Another video shows some Muslim volunteers from Meem group packing food items for distribution to the flood-affected people.
In Delhi’s Jamia Nagar, United for Humanity, an NGO, has also taken it upon itself to provide relief to the people affected by floods in the area and its surrounding. Qasim Usmani, president of the NGO, said that he has asked people from slum areas of Zakir Nagar to shift to any flat and his NGO will pay the rent.
In a video, he claimed that flood water entered several jhuggis in the Dhobhi Ghat of Jamia Nagar. But, he said, the government did not provide any assistance to the affected people.
Qasim said his team also visited Madanpur Khadar and set up relief camps for the affected people and also their domestic animals.
