The water level in the Hathnikund barrage rose to over 3.50 lakh cusec, the highest this monsoon, on Monday amid heavy rainfall in the catchment areas, prompting “high flood” alerts for Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi, even as incessant rain battered Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
The gates were opened during the intervening night of Sunday and Monday. Irrigation and water resources department (Yamunanagar) superintendent engineer RS Mittal said that the level touched 3.50 lakh cusecs at 10 am. He said that at 4 am, the water flow was recorded at 1.65 lakh cusecs.
The 70,000 cusecs to 1.5 lakh cusecs is considered “low flood”, 1.5 lakh cusecs to 2.5 lakh cusecs is “medium flood”, and above 2.5 lakh cusecs is “high flood”. One cusec is equal to 28.32 litres per second.
Haryana’s irrigation and water resources department said there was a “low flood” situation at the barrage in Yamunanagar around midnight when the water crossed 1 lakh cusecs, prompting them to open the floodgates as alarm bells were sounded.
Mittal said the water was likely to enter low-lying areas of Haryana and take 48 to 72 hours to reach Delhi. “An alert has been issued to concerned authorities in the states. Our department teams are also on high alert along the river. Residents are advised not to venture near the Yamuna,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Mittal said the water was likely to enter low-lying areas of Haryana and take 48 to 72 hours to reach Delhi. “An alert has been issued to concerned authorities in the states. Our department teams are also on high alert along the river. Residents are advised not to venture near the Yamuna,” he added.
{{/usCountry}}Officials said that the water increased to the 2.50 lakh cusecs mark early morning and touched 3.29 lakh cusecs at 9 am, rising above 3.50 lakh cusecs mark at around 10 am, highest this season.
However, data shows that the levels dropped to 2.53 cusecs (still in “high flood”) at 8 pm, which suggests that the 18 gates at the barrage remained open for over 12 hours and water was likely to enter the national capital before stipulated time.