Delhi on high alert as Yamuna crosses danger mark, touches 206. 24-meter

NEW DELHI: The water level in Yamuna River touched 206. 24 meters, slightly above the danger mark of 205.33 meteres, Central Water Commission said on Tuesday. The oficials further informed that the high flood level is--207.49 meteres.

"The water level in Yamuna River crosses the danger mark of 205.33 mtr, touching 206.24 mtr; the high flood level is--207.49 mtr," Central Water Commission said. The Rail traffic over the old Yamuna bridge in Delhi has been temporarily suspended since 6.00 a.m, today till July 11, said Northern Railway.

Meanwhile, rise in water level in Yamuna was also seen at Vikasnagar, in Uttarakhand's Dehradun due to continous rainfall. Earlier, the water level of the Yamuna at the Old Railway Bridge was recorded at 206.04 mm at 11 pm on Monday.

The Yamuna River in Delhi, which was flowing above warning level for hours, crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres at 5 pm on Monday, the latest data from the flood control department said. The water level in Yamuna is rising continuously as Haryana released more water into the river from the Hathnikund barrage amid rains across northwest India including the national capital.

According to the Flood Control Department, around 2,15,677 cusecs water was discharged through the Hathnikund barrage at 3 pm on Monday. A fresh spell of rainfall lashed the city on Monday afternoon.

The areas in the city continued to face water-logging due to incessant rains on Saturday and Sunday and a fresh spell of rainfall on Monday. Earlier on Monday, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the government is in alert mode and that is fully prepared to control the situation.

"Delhi government is on full alert. As the water will go above 206 metres, we will start shifting people, living on the banks. The process of taking them safely to the relief camp will be started. Earlier we were feeling that the water level would cross 205 meters on July 11, but it has crossed 205 meters today itself because more water is being released from Haryana," he told ANI. Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that there is no flood threat in the city due to the rise in the water level of Yamuna, following two days of heavy rain in the national capital and adjoining areas.

The record rainfall in the national capital has impacted all sections, including the poor, the daily wagers and those commuting to reach their destinations. While families around the Yamuna living in hutments will have to shift in case water level rises further, rainwater also entered the homes of some civil servants. The plight of locals across the societal divide has only served to reinforce the fact that the floods, this year, have hit the poor as well as the powerful.

As the rainwater inundated roads and led to long queues of vehicles stuck in the downpour, residents, including people living in the diplomatic enclave in Chanakyapuri, vented out their migivings over Delhi's inadequate drainage system. The diplomatic enclave housing foreign missions, in Chanakyapuri, as well as other areas housing VIPs were inundated.

Owing to the heavy rainfall and waterlogging, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) also advised senior bureaucrats residing on ground floors to relocate to safer places as a precautionary measure. There were reports of house collapses and waterlogging in several residential colonies. Waterlogging woes were also observed in diplomatic enclaves such as Chanakyapuri, Kaka Nagar, Bharti Nagar, and other prominent roads and colonies in the jurisdiction of the NDMC.