India, May 8 -- It has been more than 200 years of continuity - of smoke from funeral pyres rising above the Nigambodh Ghat, priests performing aartis, and families making the river their very own. That timeless link threatens to snap, perhaps forever, with eviction notices being served to those living in Yamuna Bazar. It could be over in just 15 days, said the residents.

That's the time the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has given the families in Yamuna Bazar in north Delhi's Kashmere Gate area to vacate the settlement voluntarily, failing which demolition action would be undertaken to clear the "encroachment".

A total of 26 notices have been served to individuals found occupying the site. The notices direct them to vacate ...