Kejriwal visits flood relief camp in Delhi’s Shastri Park, alleges delays in govt aid

AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on Friday urged the Delhi government to provide adequate relief materials to the flood-affected people in the national capital, saying there have been delays in food delivery and setting up tents.

During a visit to a relief camp in northeast Delhi’s Shastri Park, Kejriwal, a former chief minister, remarked that if the central government can send relief materials to earthquake-hit Afghanistan, Delhi’s flood victims should also get help on time.

“I can see that people are facing issues. They are not getting food on time. There are mosquitoes everywhere. It has been raining but tents were only put up yesterday. This is a natural calamity. We urge the government to provide facilities to people. It is the responsibility of the government to make adequate arrangements,” Kejriwal told reporters.

The former CM also said that all of Delhi is facing the issue of waterlogging.

“The desilting of drains did not happen on time. There is sewer backflow in many areas and there is no drinking water in many places. I urge the government to provide facilities to people,” he said.

Kejriwal also requested the BJP-led government at the Centre to provide aid to flood-affected states in north India. He visited Punjab, which has seen devastating floods on Thursday, to take stock of the situation in the AAP-ruled state.

“All of north India is grappling with floods — Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Delhi. I urge the Centre to provide relief to people.

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“When Afghanistan was hit by an earthquake, the Centre sent relief materials there. We should help other countries. But the Centre should provide relief materials to people here also,” Kejriwal said.

During Kejriwal’s tenure as chief minister, Delhi battled one of its worst flood-like situations in 2023 when the Yamuna reached an all-time high of 208.66 metres, with several areas inundated, and more than 25,000 people needing to be evacuated.