New Delhi: The Yamuna flowing through the national capital swelled to a staggering 208.66 metres at 6 pm on Thursday, prompting the Civic body in Delhi to work on "war footing" to tackle the flood that marooned the low-lying pockets in the region. The Central Water Commission (CWC) monitoring the flood situation, however, said the river level has stabilised and is expected to drop to 208.45 metres by 3 am on Friday.
CWC Director Sharad Chandra said the rate of water flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana dropped to 80,000 cusecs at 4 pm. "The water level has stabilised ... It is expected to drop to 208.45 metres by 3 am on Friday," PTI quoted Chandra as having said.
The water level recorded at the Old Railway Bridge smashed the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago by a significant margin of nearly one metre. The rise in water level has caused immense hardships for people living in close proximity to the river.
As the Yamuna waters inundated more areas of Delhi and rescue efforts intensified, the city stared at a drinking water shortage. The Delhi government has decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three water treatment plants -- Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who visited the Wazirabad water treatment plant, warned of rationalising water supply to deal with "acute shortage". He, however, said the water treatment plants will be resumed as soon as the situation turns to normal.
In view of the flood-like situation, the Delhi Disaster Management Authority on Thursday directed that non-essential government offices, schools and colleges be closed till Sunday. The Delhi government banned the entry of heavy goods vehicles, barring those carrying essentials, in the city from four borders, including Singhu.
With traffic in the national capital, especially east Delhi, severely impaired by the closure of roads due to the overflowing Yamuna, the city's traffic police issued an advisory on the restrictions and regulation of vehicular movement. According to the advisory, traffic has been impaired on the Mahatma Gandhi Marg between the IP flyover and Chandgi Ram Akhara as well as between Kalighat Mandir and Delhi Secretariat, and on the Outer Ring Road between Wazirabad Bridge and Chandgi Ram Akhara. The Delhi Metro, the city's lifeline, was also hit as water from the raging Yamuna spilt onto the roads.
Delhi Metro trains were crossing the four Yamuna bridges with a restricted speed of 30 kmph as a precautionary measure, the DMRC said on Thursday. Entry and exit of passengers at the Yamuna Bank Metro Station on the Blue Line were temporarily closed due to the rising water levels of the river.
CWC classifies it as "extreme situation": The water level crossed the 207-metre mark at 4 am on Wednesday, the first time since 2013. It breached 208.08 metres by 11 pm. It is expected to rise further and likely to maroon low-lying pockets in its flood lines and the Central Water Commission (CWC) classified it as an "extreme situation".
Section 144 imposed in flood-prone pockets-With the water level rising by every passing hour and the impending threat of marooning, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal sought the Centre's intervention. The Delhi Police, in turn, imposed Section 144 of the CrPC in flood-prone pockets barring assembly of four or more people and public movement in groups, aimed at saving lives. All ministers conducted field inspections while leaders of the BJP and the AAP participated in flood-relief work.
Kejriwal seeks slow release from Hathnikund barrage- The Delhi CM has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah suggesting the water release from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana be regulated at a slow speed. The CM sought to draw the HM's attention to the national capital gearing up to host the G20 Summit meeting in a few weeks.
"The news of flooding in the capital of the country will not send a good message to the world. Together we will have to save the people of Delhi from this situation," Kejriwal said. There are two major barrages on the Yamuna -- Dakpathar in Dehradun and Hathnikund in Yamunanagar, upstream of Delhi. There are no dams on the river and, therefore, most of the monsoon flow remains unutilised, resulting in floods during the season.
16,500 evacuated- The city government has evacuated over 16,500 people from low-lying areas. 45 boats have been deployed for awareness, evacuation and rescue work. NGOs were roped in to provide flood relief to the evacuated people. "The Old Railway Bridge has been closed for traffic. All gates of the Okhla barrage have been opened to release excess water and prevent prolonged high water levels," the the Irrigation and Flood Control Department said.
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