Delhi Yamuna level inches towards full capacity

दिल्ली में पहली बार 50,000 क्यूसेक पानी का डिस्चार्ज हुआ, जिससे यमुना का स्तर चेतावनी स्तर 204.5 मीटर के करीब पहुंच सकता है।

New Delhi

CWC data showed the peak discharge crossed 50,000 cusecs at 9pm on Monday. It remained over 50,000 per hour for four more hours, until 1am, before dipping to 48,974 cusecs at 2am. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Over 50,000 cusecs of water was discharged from the Hathnikund barrage for the first time this season, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed, which is expected to take the water level of the Yamuna close to the “warning level” of 204.5 metres, given that the water released from the barrage takes 48-50 hours to reach Delhi.

The discharge touched a peak of 54,707 cusecs at 1am on Tuesday, the data showed. The water level at the Old Railway Bridge, considered the benchmark, was 202.24 metres at 5pm on Tuesday.

“This is the first time the peak discharge has crossed 50,000 cusecs and with more rain likely in the upper reaches of the Yamuna, an increase in water levels may occur in the next two to three days,” said Bhim Singh Rawat, a Yamuna activist and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP).

CWC data showed the peak discharge crossed 50,000 cusecs at 9pm on Monday. It remained over 50,000 per hour for four more hours, until 1am, before dipping to 48,974 cusecs at 2am.

Last year, the Yamuna in Delhi did not hit the warning mark, as the highest water level recorded was 204.38 metres on September 26, 2024. The peak discharge at Hathnikund last monsoon was 87,018 cusecs, data from the irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department showed.

In 2023, the Yamuna breached the warning level, touching 208.66 metres on July 11, 2023. The peak discharge then was 359,760 cusecs, with multiple discharges of over 100,000. Water from the river inundated far-off places, including Mayur Vihar, ITO, Salimgarh bypass and Civil Lines, as over 23,000 people were evacuated in total. Delhi’s three major water treatment plants, at Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla, which provide about 25% of Delhi’s total drinking water supply, were also shut temporarily, impacting the water supply.

Delhi considers a water level of 204.5m as the warning level, and 205.33m as the danger level. In the past 63 years, the I&FC department data shows the warning level has been breached in 53 of them, making it a common annual occurrence. The river has crossed the 205-metre mark in 43 years, the 206-metre mark in 14 years and the 207-metre mark in four years, including in 2023.

The I&FC department said the first warning will be sounded by the Central Flood Control Room as soon as the discharge from Hathni Kund Barrage exceeds 100,000 cusecs. “Whereupon the relevant sector Control Rooms shall start functioning and keep a vigil in their respective areas. The boats will be requisitioned and placed at vulnerable points,” an order in this regard said.

It said a second warning shall be issued when the discharge at Hathnikund exceeds 300,000 cusecs. “People residing within the river embankments shall be warned and arrangements made to shift them to safer places,” the order said.

The other arrangements typically made to combat this annual flooding exercise include placing multiple boats on standby for evacuation and erecting tents near the Commonwealth Games Village, Hathi Ghat and Link Road, among others, where people from low-lying areas are shifted.

Last Sunday, Delhi water minister Parvesh Verma held a review of flood preparedness, with district magistrates of central, southeast, south, and southwest Delhi. Officials provided updates on ground-level flood control measures and action plans. The minister, along with senior officials, undertook a boat survey of the river stretch to assess water levels, flow patterns, and the condition of embankments.