NEW DELHI: The Yamuna in Delhi continued to flow over a metre above the danger level of 205.33 metres on Monday, forcing the authorities to suspend the movement of trains on the Old Railway Bridge.
The authorities have issued a flood warning for low-lying areas along the Hindon in Noida and Ghaziabad. Scores of people from nearby villages have also been evacuated.
As the river flowed above 206 metres throughout Monday, the Delhi government told a High Court bench that it has taken steps to provide relief to those affected by the flooding of the Yamuna. The bench asked the government to file a status report and listed the matter for September 13.
The counsel for the government informed a bench headed by Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma, which was hearing a PIL seeking free ration, that medical assistance and other facilities were available at relief camps, and that a cabinet decision has been taken to provide a financial aid of Rs 10,000 each to the affected families.
On the current situation, the Delhi government cited the excess discharge of water from Haryana’s Hathinikund barrage for the rise in the Yamuna water level. The rise in the river’s water level is expected to impact the ongoing relief work in the flood-affected low-lying areas, officials said.
According to Central Water Commission (CWC) data, the water level rose from 205.02 metres at 10 pm on Saturday to 206.57 metres at 3 am on Monday, before starting to decline again.
According to the CWC data, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana’s Yamunanagar crossed the one lakh cusec-mark at 9 am on Saturday, oscillating between two lakh and 2.5 lakh cusecs between 10 am and 5 pm.