India, May 20 -- A court-mandated anti-encroachment drive on May 5-6, led by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), cleared hundreds of illegal structures along the Taimoor Nagar drain, with the focus on Eastern Avenue Road. But a critical section of the drain's outfall-where it meets the Yamuna-remains heavily constricted, threatening to undo the progress just weeks before the monsoon sets in.

On May 5 and 6, the DDA removed encroachments from the eastern stretch of the 40-foot-wide drain, which channels stormwater from southeast Delhi. However, its downstream section near Taimoor Nagar Extension remains dangerously narrowed to barely 5-6 feet, hemmed in by unauthorised five- to six-storey buildings and obstructed by large Delhi Jal Boa...