Delhi On High Alert As River Yamuna Crosses Danger Mark, Government To Evacuate 24,000 People

Water levels at River Yamuna have crossed 205.33 metres, which is the danger mark, triggering fears of flooding in the low-lying areas of the national capital.??

River Yamuna had breached the warning mark at 204.50 meters on Monday morning, and the water levels further rose by the evening.?

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Following this, the Delhi government has issued orders for the evacuation of people from low-lying areas and civil defence volunteers have been deployed for rescue operations.

"We have deployed forces. Our department is ready for rescue operations. We got to know that water has been released from Hathnikund Barrage. We will ensure that people shift to safer places," Lalit Goyal, Civil Defence Officer, said.

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According to reports, some 10,000 people living along the low-lying areas have already been shifted to safety and the government is aiming to evacuate some 14,000 more.?

The Yamuna flows through six districts of Delhi whose low-lying areas are prone to flooding.?

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the water level in the river is likely to rise further with more discharge from the Hathnikund barrage by neighbouring Haryana.

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It is feared that the water level could rise up to 207 metres due to the discharge of 8,28,000 cusec water from the Hathnikund barrage.

Kejriwal said the next two days are going to be "critical" and assured the people that all arrangements were being made to deal with the situation and appealed to people not to panic.

The government has also set up two control rooms for coordinating the evacuation efforts and the public can call 21210849 and 22421656 for any assistance.

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As part of the emergency preparedness, the Delhi government has set up 2120 tents and kept 53 boats on standby for any eventuality.

It is not just Delhi, most of Northern India has been hit by heavy rains and massive flooding in the past few days.?

Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and Jammu have all reported torrential rains, floods and landslides.

38 people have been killed in the rains and floods across the state in the past few days.??