After the water level of the Yamuna River rose to record-breaking levels, officials said that over 25,000 people have been rescued by combined efforts by the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams, the Delhi Police and other agencies.
A total of 25,478 have been rescued, along with dogs and cows, as 16 NDRF teams have been deployed in flood-affected areas of Delhi, PTI reported. Rescue work is still underway on roads which have turned into little rivers.
In a separate operation, Delhi Police authorities managed to rescue over 60 students from a blind school at Kingsway Camp, after floodwater entered its premises. Several dogs and cows were also rescued by the NDRF teams at an animal shelter in Mayur Vihar.
Meanwhile, the water level of Yamuna River, which breached a 45-year-old record on Wednesday, fell to 207.98 metres at 11 pm on Friday. It has risen to 208.08 metres on Wednesday, as per data by the Central Water Commission.
This marked the first time the water level declined below the 208 metre mark in the last 48 hours. Several key areas remained inundated as the water level continued to rise since Wednesday, to 208.57 metres on Friday.
The floodwaters reached the Supreme Court and the Mahatma Gandhi memorial in Rajghat. The busy ITO intersection was also seen submerged after the Irrigation and Flood Control Department's regulator was damaged.
Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said the government has directed the chief secretary to take up the matter of the damage to the regulator on priority and resolve the problem. “Whole night, our teams worked to fix the damage at the regulator of drain no. 12 near the WHO building. Still, the water of Yamuna is entering the city through this breach. The government has directed the chief secretary to take it up on highest priority,” he said in a tweet.
The Okhla water treatment plant has resumed operation after being shut on Thursday due to continued flow of floodwater.
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