New Delhi, May 16 -- Nearly the entire locality in the Yamuna Bazar area, near Kashmere Gate, has now received eviction notices from the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), which direct residents to vacate the premises by May 18, after which a demolition drive will begin, residents and officials aware of the matter on Friday.

Last week, some 50 families residing in the of the centuries-old area were given the eviction notice, giving them 15 days to vacate the area.The notice had described the settlement as a "illegal encroachment" of the Yamuna floodplain in the O-Zone area and cited recurring flood risk as grounds for eviction. Residents, however, claimed that no formal survey of the area, where they have been living for generat...