NEW DELHI: The old iron bridge over Yamuna has been temporarily closed for traffic movement as the river exceeded the evacuation mark in Delhi, police said on Tuesday. In a tweet, the Delhi Traffic Police said, “Iron bridge pusta road Gandhi Nagar is closed for public/traffic till further orders due to dangerous level of water in Yamuna river. Commuters are advised to plan their journey accordingly.”
According to the Central Water Commission’s (CWC) flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge rose from 205.4 metres at 5 pm on Monday to 206.76 metres at 8 pm on Tuesday as Haryana discharged more water into the river from the Hathnikund barrage in Yamunanagar.
It is expected that the river will rise to 207 metres in the early hours on Wednesday and continue to rise further. The river had exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres on Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and a closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic.
“The Yamuna water level at the Old Railway Bridge rose to 206.76 metres by 8 pm, which is the highest since 2013 when the river reached a level of 207.32 metres,” said a senior irrigation and flood control department official.
He explained that the sharp rise in water level was due to continuous rainfall in the upper catchment areas and saturated soil from heavy precipitation in Delhi and nearby regions over the weekend. People living in low-lying areas have been shifted to safer places at higher altitudes, the department said.