Gurugram, Sept. 3 -- Nearly 500 families were displaced after Yamuna floodwaters surged through Basantpur and adjoining floodplain settlements, submerging homes and triggering a high alert. Authorities said rescue and relief efforts are underway, with teams on vigil as water levels continue to rise. Fourteen villages remain vulnerable as the river continues to rise following heavy discharge from the Hathnikund barrage.After discharge from the Hathnikund barrage, water takes approximately 48 hours to reach Faridabad, officials said. Officials recorded the Yamuna's level at 202.70 metres on Tuesday, below the danger mark of 204.50 metres, but warned that continued discharge and heavy rainfall upstream could worsen the situation. Water released from Hathnikund typically takes 48 hours to reach Faridabad. With the India Meteorological Department (IMD) issuing an orange alert for heavy to very heavy rainfall until September 5, authorities are treating the situation as "evolving". The Yamuna's water level in Faridabad is tracked by the district administration, Irrigation Department, and HSPCB at points such as the Okhla Barrage, Agra Canal, and villages including Mohana, Latipur, Basantpur, Ismailpur, and Agwanpur. Faridabad deputy commissionerVikram Singh described the situation as "sensitive but under control." He said, "The administration has made all necessary arrangements to support families and their livestock in the flood-affected areas."Singh added that most families had either shifted to government shelters or to relatives' homes in nearby towns. "For cattle, arrangements have been made at Gaushalas, and every affected village has a designated relief point. We appeal to citizens not to risk staying behind. Shelters are ready with food, water, electricity, and medical facilities," he said.The administration has converted government schools, community centres, and panchayat bhawans into temporary shelters, while emergency helplines (0129-2227937, 0129-2226262) are active round the clock. District teams are patrolling flood-hit areas in boats and trucks. "Our priority is simple...no loss of life," Singh noted. The Haryana government, has made rescue equipment, boats, and medical teams on standby, while coordination with the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) has been intensified. A senior irrigation department official, requesting anonymity, said, "If rainfall in the upper catchments continues, the river may cross danger levels in the coming days." For displaced residents, the disaster is an annual ordeal. Forty-six-year-old Mahinder Singh, a carpenter who migrated to Faridabad in 2005, lost his two-room pucca house in Basantpur to rising waters on Sunday. "All my savings are gone. I had put nearly Rs 20 lakh into building it, the only security I could give my children. Now I am back on the streets. Even if I work my whole life again, I will not be able to raise another home," he said. For Meena Devi, a domestic worker, the ordeal has become routine. "Every year the Yamuna rises, and every year we are forced to abandon our homes. We lose our utensils, our goats, even our clothes. We rebuild after the water recedes, but the loss never ends. It feels like we are punished for simply wanting a roof over our heads." Meanwhile, Ramesh Chauhan, a farmer, recalled the chaos of 2023. "That year, people waded through chest-deep water, leaving everything behind. Many never got their belongings back." The affected colonies were carved out of floodplains over the past decade and sold cheaply to migrants desperate for land. A senior municipal official admitted requesting anonymity: "These are illegal colonies, no doubt. But once families move in, schools, shops, and temples follow. Eviction becomes politically sensitive, so people continue to live here despite the risk. Each flood is both a humanitarian disaster and a governance failure."For families like that of Ram Avtar, who settled in Basantpur five years ago, the ordeal is inescapable. "Every year when the Yamuna swells, we know it will snatch our homes again. We pack whatever little we have and leave, spending thousands on trucks and rickshaws just to move our families and cattle." Conditions at relief camps reflect the strain. At a government school, Savitri Devi, 35, cradled her two-year-old daughter. "My child cries for milk, but we have only rice and dal here. The doctor says she needs medicines, but I have no money to buy them. Will the government care for us after the waters recede? Or will we be forgotten again?" Behind the official advisories lies a cycle of loss that repeats every monsoon, exposing both human vulnerability and governance gaps. As rainfall continues across Haryana and Delhi, Faridabad's crisis may worsen before relief arrives....