Overview
- The Delhi Development Authority carried out a demolition drive on Thursday to clear settlements at Yamuna Bazar Ghat Nos. 2–32 after issuing eviction notices that cited National Green Tribunal orders to remove encroachments from the O‑Zone floodplain.
- Residents and local groups reported heavy police deployment, claims that water and electricity were cut and that vehicles were blocked from entering, which they say hampered efforts to salvage belongings.
- Families directly affected say hundreds of homes were razed and give higher estimates of displacement than some official counts, with residents reporting roughly 310 dwellings and about 1,100 people made homeless.
- Authorities have pointed displaced people to temporary night shelters run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board, a move residents say is unsafe, unsuitable for women and children, and inadequate for river‑dependent livelihoods.
- The operation sharpens a recurring policy clash in Delhi between legally backed floodplain protection and multigenerational river communities whose boats, ritual services and small trades tie them to the Yamuna and whose rehousing and livelihood needs remain unresolved.