The flood-like situation in Delhi has not only interrupted life in the national capital but also inundated crematoria located near the raging Yamuna making it difficult for people who have lost their loved ones to conduct funerals.
Nigambodh Ghat, a place preferred by many for the last rites, is flooded as waters from the swollen river have rendered the places practically dysfunctional.
The Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday had issued an advisory asking people not to go to Nigambodh Ghat to carry out last rites.
The crematorium in Geeta Colony too was closed due to the rise in Yamuna water levels.
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The Delhi civic body has advised people to take the bodies to other cremation grounds at Panchkuian Road, Sat Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Green Park, Dakshinpuri or preferably in their neighbourhood.
On Thursday, visuals emerged on social media of some people performing rituals on a raised platform outside Nigambodh Ghat as the inside of the cremation site and the road outside are flooded with river waters.
Many had come to collect mortal remains left after cremation but the waters have submerged them all in the premises of the crematorium.
According to Suman Gupta of Nigambodh Ghat Sanchalan Samiti, which manages operations at the crematorium, there are about 120 conventional platforms, six CNG-based platforms and six Mokshda platforms.
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Nigambodh Ghat is considered a pious place and many people prefer to cremate their loved one at this site next to Yamuna river, he said.
On Tuesday, only a portion of the site had been submerged. When he was asked if there were any alternative measures planned in case the water level will rise above, Gupta had replied, somewhat in a poetic manner, saying, "The mighty Lord Shiva will protect it ('Bhole baba sab dekh lenge')".
Roads turned into rivers and water gushed into houses, medical facilities, crematoriums and shelter homes, impairing normal life and causing immense hardship for the people as the water level in the Yamuna river level rose to a record high.
However, a senior Central Water Commission official said the water level of the Yamuna has stabilised and will start receding tonight.
According to the commission's flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge rose to 208.62 metres at 1 pm and remained stable till 4 pm.
-With PTI Input
