Yamuna river water level: Delhi's Yamuna river which was overflowing and had crossed the danger mark, finally saw some decrease in its water level as it came down below the warning mark of 204.5 meters. Besides, a call on shifting the affected people back to their areas will be taken on Tuesday, officials said. The flood control room said the water level dipped from 204.65 metres at 12 noon on Sunday to 204.48 at 12 noon on Monday.
The river had breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres around 4 pm on Friday following heavy rain in the upper catchment areas, prompting authorities to evacuate around 7,000 people from low-lying areas. The water level fell below the danger mark around 2 am on Saturday.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had appealed to people to avoid going toward the banks of the river. "We have made adequate arrangements for the people living near the Yamuna. Cooperate with the government and administration. We are monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with any situation," he tweeted.
A flood alert was declared in Delhi when the discharge rate from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana's Yamuna Nagar crossed the one lakh-cusecs mark. People living near the floodplains and in flood-prone areas were evacuated. Around 37,000 people who live in the Yamuna floodplains and low-lying areas in Delhi are considered vulnerable to flooding.
People evacuated from low-lying areas in the floodplains have been shifted to temporary structures like tents and permanent buildings like schools in safer areas.
The Delhi flood control room reported a discharge rate of around 22,000 cusecs from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana's Yamuna Nagar at 12 noon, which was the highest in the last 24 hours. The discharge rate was 1.49 lakh cusecs at 1 am on Saturday and 2.21 lakh cusecs at 3 pm on Thursday, the highest this year so far. One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second.
Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge increases after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas. The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two to three days to reach the national capital.
(With PTI Inputs)
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