New Delhi: The Yamuna river is likely to breach the danger mark on Wednesday, according to a flood warning issued by the Central Water Commission on Tuesday evening.
At 9 pm, the river crossed the danger mark, reaching a level of 204.56 metres at the Old Railway Bridge (ORB). Earlier in the day, at 9 am, the water level stood at 204.58 metres.
“As the water level of ORB may cross the danger level and is likely to reach 205.36 metres, all officers are hereby advised to keep vigil in their respective areas and take necessary action at vulnerable points. People residing within the river embankments shall be warned, and arrangements made to shift them to safer places,” the flood warning said.
While the warning mark for Delhi is 204.50 metres, the danger mark is 205.33 metres, and evacuation of people starts at 206 metres.
The water level of the Yamuna in Haryana’s Faridabad has also increased due to the release of water into the Yamuna from Delhi’s Okhla Barrage, which has led to waterlogging in the low-lying areas, officials said.
Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta went on Tuesday carried out an inspection of low-lying areas around Yamuna Bazar, where water has entered homes. She waded through flooded streets and interacted with residents.
“We have requested them to shift to schools, where relief camps are set up and arrangements are made for food and medical relief. They said there is no electricity. So, we have made arrangements for floodlights powered by solar energy, so that there are no issues at night,” PTI news agency quoted Gupta.
The water level in the Yamuna river at Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge reached 205.79 metres, just short of the 206-metre ‘evacuation’ level, at 8 am on Tuesday.
Rekha Gupta took to X after the inspection on Tuesday and wrote, “Today, I visited the Yamuna Bazar area of Delhi to conduct an on-ground inspection of flood management and administrative preparations and interacted with local people to listen to their problems.”
“In the morning, there was a possibility that the Yamuna’s water level might touch 206 meters, but now the situation is completely under control. This area is a low-lying part of the Yamuna’s floodplain, so the water reached here but did not advance further. There is no flood-like situation in Delhi. This was the peak water level, and now the water is receding,” she said on X.
She added that the situation is being continuously monitored from the control room, adding that relief and rescue teams are deployed with full alertness to handle any situation.
