Dharamshala: Samyeling Tibetan Settlement (Majnu-ka-Tilla) and Budh Vihar, the two colony/locality with the largest Tibetan population in Delhi, were recently hit hard by flooding caused by excessive rain as several areas in India’s capital was engulfed by the overflow of Yamuna river following incessant rainfall on 11 and 12 July 2023.
Upon learning the situation, the Department of Home immediately dispatched help to these areas and contacted Samyeling Tibetan Settlement Office to supervise approaches to the problem and how to relieve victims. The department further provided INR 3 Lakh relief funds to the settlement office to help abate the distress.
Since Budh Vihar is more severely devastated by the rise of the Yamuna River, many residents were stuck at their homes due to submerging of the ground floor. The Samyeling Tibetan Settlement Office sought the assistance of a lifeboat and rescue team from the Chief Secretary of Delhi, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), and Delhi Police to rescue the stranded residents. Around 60 residents were rescued from Budh Vihar, and the rest were provided with supplies of food and drinking water.
Similarly, the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) distributed food in flood-hit Tibetan areas.
As flooding increases the risk of transmission of water- and vector-borne diseases, Samyeling Tibetan Settlement Office began sanitising Majnu-ka-Tilla and Budh Vihar after the river began receding on 15 July.
-Report filed by Department of Home, CTA