New Delhi: The Yamuna in Delhi swelled to 208.05 metres on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago, flooding many areas and prompting Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to appeal to people living in low-lying to evacuate immediately.
According to the Central Water Commission’s (CWC) flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 207-metre mark at 4 am on Wednesday, the first time since 2013. It rose to 208.05 metres at 10 pm and is likely to touch 208.30 by 8 am on Thursday.
“I urge everyone living in low-lying areas to evacuate because the water level will rise suddenly and your life could be in danger,” the chief minister said at a press conference.
As the water level rose to a record level, Kejriwal urged the Centre to intervene to ensure that levels of the Yamuna don’t rise further.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he requested that “if possible the water from Hathnikund
barrage in Haryana be released in limited speed” and pointed out that Delhi is set to host the G-20 Summit meeting in a
few weeks.
“The news of flooding in the capital of the country will not send a good message to the world. Together we will have to save the people of Delhi from this situation,” he said.
Kejriwal informed Shah that Delhi did not receive any rain in the last three days, adding that the level of Yamuna in the national Capital was not rising due to rain in the city but because of water released into the river from the Hathinikund barrage in Haryana.
Addressing the press conference on Wednesday evening, he said Union Water Minister Gajendra Shekhawat has informed him that the volume of water being released
to Haryana from Himachal Pradesh has reduced, which in turn will bring down the water level in the Yamuna.
“Following my letter (to Shah), I got a call from Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, who said that Hathnikund is just a barrage and there is no reservoir to store water and limit the water speed. “The water volume being released from Himachal Pradesh has reduced and the situation will improve. But it will take time to reflect in the water level of the Yamuna,” the chief minister told reporters here.
Following the meeting, Kejriwal had said that the focus at the moment is to protect lives.
Meanwhile, ten schools in low-lying areas of the Civil Lines zone of the MCD and seven in the Shahadra
area will be closed on July 13 due to a flood-like situation in the national Capital.