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AERIAL VIEWS Dhansa Embankment under floodwater. (3 shots)
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GV people walking through flood water. (2 shots)
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GV floodwater surrounding buildings. (2 shots)
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SV people on roof top and sitting in door way. (2 shots)
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GV flooded street and people on roof tops. (2 shots)
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GV floodwaters surrounding buildings and people standing in doorways. (3 shots)
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Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: The Indian Army has been called in to help civilians restrain flood waters which have inundated parts of New Delhi, the Indian capital, causing millions of dollars worth of damage and severe disruption to everyday life. About 80,000 people have been evacuated because of the floods, caused by unusually heavy monsoon rains in recent weeks.

At heavy 22 outlying villages have also been flooded. Ten of them are virtually marooned. One villager said water snakes were scaring a lot of people.

SYNOPSIS: Nearly a million people are now affected by the worsening floods. Troops have been reinforcing a river dyke to try and restrain the waters which could swamp large areas of the capital. The Dhansa Bund dyke was reported to be holding out, and citizens were being urged not to panic. The dyke holds back water of the Yamuna river which flows in from neighbouring Haryana State. The flood waters have covered nearly 1,800 square kilometres in and around the capital. Delhi's Chief Executive Councillor Kidar Nath Sahani said they were fighting with their backs to the wall.

The floods have meant that people are mostly confined to rooftops or behind doorways. If they want to move away to different areas, they have to wade through water which is Knee-deep. The authorities have warned residents of the northern section of Delhi to be vigilant in view of the flood forecasts, which continued to be grim. The water was expected to keep flowing into the Dhansa Bund area, but experts said the situation might improve by the middle of this week (10 August).