Yamuna water level: As the water level in the Yamuna River breached the 45-year record by reaching 208.05 metres, Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena has called a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) to discuss the likely flood situation in the national capital. According to DDMA officials, the meeting will be held at the LG Secretariat at 12 pm which will also be attended by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
The authorities in the national capital have been put on alert as the water level of Yamuna has crossed the mark of 208.05 metres, surpassing the Central Water Commission's estimate of 207.99 metres late on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, thousands of people staying national capital’s low-lying areas were shifted to safe places.
In accordance with the Delhi government's evacuation plan, a total of 16,564 people from low-lying regions have been relocated to safer places, and 14,534 others are currently living in tents or other makeshift shelters across the city. In the wake of the flood-like situation in the city, MCD’s Education Department has also decided to close 10 schools in low-lying areas of Civil Lines Zone, 6 schools in Shahadra South Zine and 1 school in Shahadra North Zone for Thursday (July 13).
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CWC calls situation as 'extreme'
The Central Water Commission (CWC) termed it an "extreme situation". As the situation has become alarming, Delhi CM Kejriwal also wrote a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, urging the Centre to intervene. "The water level in the Yamuna is not increasing due to the rains in Delhi, but due to the water being released from the Hathini Kund barrage located in Haryana. I humbly request that if possible the water from Hathni Kund barrage should be released at a limited rate only so that the level of Yamuna in Delhi does not increase further," Kejriwal stated in his letter.
On the Yamuna River, there are two major barrages -- Hathnikund in Yamunanagar and Dakpathar in Dehradun, upstream of Delhi. Since there are no dams on the river, the majority of the monsoon flow is wasted and floods occur during the rainy season.
Yamuna's water level shot up sharply in last 3 days
In the last three days, Delhi has noticed a sharp rise in the Yamuna's water level. It shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected. The river exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres on Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and the closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic. The water level breached the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres by 1 pm on Wednesday and the 208-metre mark by 10 pm.
(With inputs from agencies)
