New Delhi: Waist-deep water swallowed the lanes of Old Delhi’s Sadar Bazar Tuesday, completely cutting off access to a school and bringing one of Asia’s largest wholesale markets to a standstill.People navigated the bazar’s submerged streets with caution and labourers struggled to haul their goods through stagnant water even as residents warned that hidden drains and overhead electric wires made the area too dangerous to navigate.The worst-hit stretch was a lane leading to Prakash Gali Girls’ School, where this reporter could not proceed beyond a point. Muddy water rose above the waist, open drains were invisible and low-hanging electric wires hung dangerously above the flooded lane. “Don’t go any further. It’s not safe,” several residents cautioned.Yet, for those who live in Sadar Bazar, there was little choice but to carry on. “If we are scared every time it rains, life will come to a standstill. Our children use this road to go to school every day. We have learnt to live with this,” said Arvind Singh (39), who runs a shop.Not far from the school, the market presented an equally grim picture. Two-wheelers were partially submerged, filthy water entered hundreds of shopfronts and customers rolled up their trousers to gingerly make their way through the inundated streets. Labourers carrying valuable consignments pushed through water, determined to keep the wholesale market functioning even as every step carried the risk of slipping into an invisible open drain.A stray dog, unable to find a patch of dry ground, was seen swimming through the flooded market until a passer-by lifted it onto the raised platform of a shop.“This isn’t a one-off incident. This is our reality every monsoon,” said Dharmesh, a trader. “Twenty minutes of rain is enough to drown the market. We lose business, customers stop coming and goods get damaged. But after the water recedes, everyone forgets us.”Another shopkeeper nodded in agreement, “The administration comes here only after the flooding is over.” A third trader added, “Our children walk through this water to reach school, our elderly walk through it to buy medicines, and we carry our livelihoods on our shoulders through it. We don’t need sympathy; we need drains that work.”An MCD official told TOI that the civic body was working on a war footing to tackle the waterlogging.There was no immediate response from education department about schools taking a hit because of waterlogging. Sources said offline classes continued in many areas despite the flooding.
