Delhi: Yamuna water level nears ‘danger mark’, alert issued
Officials said the Delhi administration sounded an “alert” on Friday with the water level of Yamuna reaching 205.22 meters in the capital, precariously crossing the ‘danger mark’ of 205.33 meters, as the northwest It is raining in India. . The Irrigation and Flood Control Department has deployed 13 boats in different areas and kept 21 others on standby.
The Delhi Disaster Management Authority said that the water level of Yamuna river has crossed the danger mark at 205.33 metres.
With more water being released into the river from Haryana’s Hathnikund barrage, the Delhi Police and the East Delhi district administration have started evacuating people living on the Yamuna floodplains in the capital.
“These people are being shifted to the city government’s shelter homes in Yamuna Pushta area,” an official said.
The water level on the old railway bridge was recorded at 205.22 at 8:30 am. It was 203.74 meters at 8:30 on Thursday night.
“The water level was 205.10 meters at 6 am and 205.17 meters at 7 am,” the official said. He said that it is likely to increase further.
A flood warning is declared when the Yamuna crosses the “warning mark” of 204.50 metres. A district administration official said the situation was being monitored round the clock.
An official of the Meteorological Department said that the river is in spate due to rain in Delhi and the upper catchment areas. The Meteorological Department has also issued an “Orange Alert” for moderate rain in Delhi-NCR for the third consecutive day on Friday.
According to the Delhi Flood Control Room, the discharge rate from Hathnikund barrage reached 1.60 lakh cusecs on Tuesday afternoon, which is the highest ever this year. It usually takes two-three days for the water released from the barrage to reach the capital.
Haryana was releasing water from the Yumannagar barrage at the rate of 19,056 cusecs at 8 am. The flow rate at 8 pm on Thursday was 25,839 cusecs. Normally, the flow rate at Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge increases after heavy rainfall in the catchment areas.
One cusec is equal to 28.32 liters per second. In 2019, the flow rate had reached 8.28 lakh cusecs on August 18-19, and the water level of the Yamuna crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres, crossing the danger mark of 206.60 metres.
The Delhi government had to evacuate people and start relief work after the river inundated several low-lying areas. In 1978, the river had risen to an all-time record water level of 207.49 metres. In 2013 it had increased to 207.32 metres.
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