Delhi on alert as Yamuna flows near ‘danger mark’
YAMUNA IS in spate because of rains in Delhi and the upper catchment areas, an MeT department official said, adding that it may swell further as more rains are predicted in Northwest India
Measures are underway to evacuate people living in the low-lying areas of the Yamuna flood plains after the national capital’s river breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Friday. The Delhi administration sounded a flood alert amid heavy rains in the upper catchment areas, officials said.
The water level was recorded at 205.34 metres at the Old Railway Bridge at 11.00 am. It was 205.22 metres at 8.30 am, 205.10 metres at 6.00 am, and 205.17 metres at 7.00 am, an official said, adding that it is likely to rise further.
All the departments concerned have been alerted. The irrigation and flood control department has deployed 13 boats in different areas and put 21 others on standby, the official from the irrigation and flood control department said.
With Haryana discharging
more water into the river from the Hathnikund Barrage, the Delhi police and the East Delhi district administration have started evacuating people living in the floodplains of the Yamuna in the national capital. These people are being shifted to shelter homes of the city government in the Yamuna Pushta area, the official said.
“A flood alert is declared when the Yamuna crosses the ‘warning mark’ of 204.50 metres. The situation is being monitored round-the-clock,” a district administration official said.
The river is in spate because of rains in Delhi and the upper catchment areas, an MeT department official said, adding that it may swell further as more rains are predicted in Northwest India.
The weather department has also issued an ‘orange alert’ for moderate rains in Delhi-NCR for the third day on Friday.
According to the Delhi flood control room, the discharge rate at the Hathnikund Barrage peaked to 1.60 lakh cusecs on Tuesday afternoon, the highest this year so far. The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two-three days to reach the national capital.
Haryana has been releasing water from the Yamunanagar-located barrage at the rate of 19,056 cusecs at 8.00 am. The flow rate was 25,839 cusecs at 8.00 pm on Thursday.