Overflowing Delhi's Naini Lake triggers alarm as snakes enter homes, residents hope for relief

By Ajit K Jha
New Delhi [India], August 1 : Incessant rains in the national capital have created panic among people residing around Naini Lake in Model Town where the water level has significantly risen in the past few days.
Last week, water entered people's houses, however, now it is the snakes that have created a worrisome situation as they reportedly entered houses in the vicinity.
After registering several complaints with the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC), people claim that no measures have been taken yet.
Locals told ANI that children in the area fear playing outside since snakes have been spotted.
"The number of snakes and rats has increased in the area. Twice snakes have entered our home and no official from any department has come to help. We contacted the concerned department, but there was no response. Losing faith, we sought help from an NGO based in Lajpat Nagar which took the snake out of our house," said Nishant Aggarwal, a local in the area.
He further said that the rise in water level in the Naini Lake had happened in the past year also but such a situation was not witnessed before.
Mukesh Aggarwal, general secretary of Lake Area Residents Association told ANI that NDMC Director had visited the lake to take stock of the situation but permission to pump out the water was not given.

"To not have pumped out the water in the past 15 days denotes negligence on the part of the authorities," he said.
Elaborating on how the situation prevailed, Aggarwal said, "Due to heavy downpour on July 15, the lake overflowed and water level drastically rose. It was 3-4 feet above the footpath. Because of this, algae formed on the footpath and there was an increase in mosquitoes."
Raising concern over residents falling prey to numerous diseases due to unhygienic conditions, he demanded that urgent action be taken.
"People have even dealt with pushing out snakes from their houses on their own as no help from authorities was provided," Aggarwal added.

Naini lake is about 10 feet away from the residential houses that surround it.
Somakshi Goyal, who is a resident in the area said that people refrain from taking morning or evening walks. "The lake is releasing toxic gases," she added.
The lake which served as a scenic beauty to many has raised several issues.
"We are not able to utilize such a beautiful space. The concerned authorities claimed that the problem would be resolved in 2-3 days," said another local Chinar Goyal, who is hoping that relief will be brought to residents soon.