NEW DELHI: With the water level of river Yamuna rising above the average mark, the Delhi administration on Friday sounded a flood alert. The water level in the national capital rose to 205.22 metres, close to the ‘danger mark’ of 205.33 metres, as rains continued to pound northwest India.
A flood alert is declared when the Yamuna crosses the “warning mark” of 204.50 metres. The situation is being monitored round-the-clock. According to officials, people in the affected areas are being shifted to shelter homes run by the city government in the Yamuna Pushta area after the Haryana government discharged more water into the river from the Hathnikund Barrage. Delhi Police and the East Delhi district administration have started evacuating people living on the floodplains of the Yamuna in the capital.
The irrigation and flood control department has deployed 13 boats in different areas and put 21 others on standby. The water level was recorded at 205.22 at the Old Railway Bridge at 8:30 am. It was 203.74 metres at 8:30 pm. The water level was 205.10 metres at 6 am and 205.17 at 7 am. According to officials, it is expected to rise further. 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.
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. Water discharged from the barrage normally takes two-three days to reach the capital.
Haryana had been releasing water from the Yumananagr-located barrage at the rate of 19,056 cusecs at 8 am. The flow rate was 25,839 cusecs at 8 pm on Thursday. Normally, flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge is increased after heavy rains in catchment areas. One cusec is equivalent of 28.32 litres per second.
In 2019, the flow rate had peaked to 8.28 lakh cusec on August 18-19, and the water level of Yamuna had hit the 206.60 metre-mark, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres. The Delhi government had to launch evacuation and relief operations after the overflowing river submerged many low-lying areas.
Hooda flays haryana for waterlogging
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said the recent spell of rain has once again exposed the BJP-led Haryana government’s development claims. “Several areas are waterlogged. The roads built have got washed away in the rain like a pile of sand in water,” he said. Hooda added that people in all districts are facing sewage problems. “Looking at the pictures of many districts, it seems that the streets have turned into rivers and the roads have become ponds,” Hooda said.