New Delhi (Agency): Senior BJP leader, Meenakashi Lekhi, voiced her concerns on Sunday, alleging that the recent flood situation in parts of Delhi was due to the “lack of dredging of the Yamuna”. During a press conference, she raised questions about the Delhi government’s response to the crisis, particularly the absence of any announced compensation for farmers and others who have suffered significant crop damage and property loss due to the floods.
Lekhi didn’t hesitate to accuse the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of politicising every adversity. She stated that the party’s leaders were more interested in “photo-ops” than in taking concrete steps to serve the communities affected by the flooding.
Over the past week, the Yamuna river had swollen to dangerous levels, breaking its previous record set in 1978. Despite the water level receding slightly from 208.66 metres on Thursday to 207.98 metres on Friday, it remained significantly above the danger mark. However, politics surrounding the flood situation continues to thrive.
Lekhi criticised Delhi’s Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal, alleging that he missed several meetings of the apex committee for flood control and preparedness. She stated that these meetings, initially scheduled for June 30, were postponed twice to July 3 and July 6. The AAP rejected these accusations, clarifying that a meeting on flood preparedness, chaired by Delhi ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, had taken place on May 9.
The narrative became more complex as accusations and counter-accusations flowed. AAP leaders accused the BJP-led government in Haryana of flooding the Yamuna by releasing excessive water from the Hathnikund barrage. Meanwhile, experts attributed the flood to encroachment of floodplains, heavy rainfall in a short duration, and a build-up of silt that elevated the riverbed.
As the conversation deepened, Lekhi questioned the AAP’s spending on the Yamuna’s cleaning. According to her, INR 6,800 crore was allocated for the cleaning project over five years, and yet, she suggested the dredging was not done. “Where did the money go?” she asked, calling for a probe into the expenditure.
Adding to the criticism, Lekhi referred to a tweet by Kejriwal, claiming that it implied that dredging had not been done. Kejriwal’s tweet detailed the process of opening the jammed gate of the ITO Barrage, which involved extracting “silt from under the water”.
According to Lekhi, the flooding resulted from the absence of desilting, deployment issues in the flood department, and a delay in orders. She claimed that around 25,000 people were affected by the flooding, and many suffered crop damage and property loss.
