River Yamuna Likely To Touch Danger Mark In Delhi Again, Flow From Hathnikund Also Increased
Just weeks after Delhi witnessed one of its worst flooding on record, there are fears of another possible deluge in the national capital.
This comes after the water level in River Yamuna, rose in Delhi following the torrential rains in the upper catchment areas.
Water level in River Yamuna
According to Central Water Commission (CWC) the water level of the river at the Old Railway Bridge (ORB) was at 203.48 metres at 7 pm on Monday.
The CWC's five-day flood forecast suggests the water level may touch the warning level of 204.5 metres on Wednesday.
At the current flow, the water level in Yamuna is likely to breach the danger mark of 205.33 meters on Wednesday or Thursday.
Last month the water level in River Yamuna had risen to over 208 meters, its highest ever recorded.
Ever since breaching the danger mark on July 10, River Yamuna was flowing above the critical threshold for eight days on the trot.
Discharge from Hathnikund Barrage
The Delhi Government had blamed the discharge of water from Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana's Yamunagar for the unprecedented floods.
The Yamuna's catchment area covers parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
Following the recent rains in neighbouring states like Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the outflow rate at the Hathnikund Barrage has also increased to 75,00 cusecs at 9 am, the highest since July 26.
Grave situation unlikely?
"We are monitoring the situation. The water level may increase but a grave situation is unlikely," an official of the Delhi government's Irrigation and Flood Control Department told PTI.
The low-lying areas near the river in Delhi, inhabited by around 41,000 people, are considered prone to flooding. Encroachments on the river's floodplain have occurred over the years, despite the land belonging to the Delhi Development Authority, the Revenue Department and private individuals.
In July, over 27,000 people living on the banks of the River Yamuna were forced to be evacuated after their homes and other buildings became inundated.
A large number of them who lost their houses had only moved back from temporary shelters recently and are now facing the prospect of being displaced again.
What made the flooding in July particularly worse was a breach in the Indraprastha embankment, which resulted in water from River Yamuna submerging ITO and Rajghat.
Water from Yamuna had reached the Supreme Court complex before the breach was fixed and the rain situation improved.
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