Delhi deluge: Can you see Raj ghat?

Regulator number 12 operated by the Delhi Jal Board sustained damage causing a backflow from the regulator as the water entered several parts of ITO and submerged Raj ghat.

Flood water enters Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial at Raj Ghat where authorities have imposed traffic curbs | Parveen Negi

NEW DELHI:  Battered by the Yamuna in spate and crippled by official apathy, Delhiites received a crass explanation from the authorities on Friday. Regulator number 12 operated by the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) sustained damage near the WHO office in central Delhi. This caused a backflow from the regulator as the water entered several parts of ITO and submerged Raj ghat (Mahatma Gandhi’s memorial).

The floodwaters managed to reach even the hallowed Supreme Court, located in the central Tilak Marg area. In an effort to combat the backflow of water, Army personnel, in conjunction with the National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF), were deployed.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal assured the people that the regulator would be set right within 4-5 hours. “After nearly 20 hours of non-stop toil, the first jammed gate of the ITO barrage has been opened,” he tweeted.

“The breach of Indraprastha water regulator due to the strong Yamuna flow is likely to be repaired in 3-4 hours,” Kejriwal tweeted. A little later he tweeted again: “The Yamuna water level has started receding; relief to Delhi residents soon”. He said the ITO barrage is under Haryana government’s control but it has no interest. “We’ll request them to give its control to us,” said Kejriwal.

Over the past 24 hours, the water level has slightly receded, with the Yamuna currently flowing at 208.17 meters. The Central Water Commission (CWC) predicts a further dip in the level to 208.05 meters by 11 pm. Several areas of central Delhi remain submerged. Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena asked Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj not to indulge in a blame game after the minister allegedly delayed the NDRF deployment in repairing the regulator.

In the presence of the L-G, who was interacting with the media, Bharadwaj claimed that he reached out to the officers, asking them to deploy NDRF teams to make the repairs but “there was no response.”
The L-G retorted: “This is the time for teamwork, not blaming each other. I could say a lot of things too, but it’s not necessary at the moment.”

Capital marooned

•  ITO submerged due to a malfunction of regulator of Delhi Jal Board in Indraprastha Estate
•  Traffic movement stopped at Vikas Marg,  connecting Laxmi Nagar to ITO, a major intersection 
• for Central and South Delhi
•  Raj Ghat submerged
•  Water reaches Supreme Court premises
•  3 kids drowned in north-east part of the city

Why City got submerged?

•  No update in Delhi Drainage Master Plan 1976
•  Encroachment in catchment areas or riverbeds
•  Out of 18 drains between Wazirabad to Okhla barrage, 12 are discharging waters in Yamuna, which is already flowing above danger mark
•  No desilting of major drains