Delhi floods: Repairs at ITO barrage on track, 1 jammed gate open

The ITO regulator broke on Thursday around 7pm because of which water from the Yamuna gushed into the city

Initial repairs at the ITO barrage, where five out of 32 gates had jammed, were completed late on Friday night after hours of work by multiple agencies, officials aware of the development said on Saturday, adding that work along the regulator drain no. 12 as well as the barrage itself have gained pace since then.

Indian Navy divers get ready to clean the silt from the gates of ITO barrage. (Sanchit Khanna/ HT Photo)

The ITO regulator broke on Thursday around 7pm because of which water from the Yamuna gushed into the city, flooding parts of ITO, IP Estate, Rajghat, and surrounding areas.

A temporary grill forged by the Elite Eight company of the Indian Army was installed at the ITO regulator late on Friday, which contained the water flow towards the city. Meanwhile, another gate was being fabricated by the irrigation and flood control (I&FC) department, which was to be installed by late Saturday evening to prevent any backflow from drains, the officials said.

“By Friday night, water had already started receding and the level reduced by around 70cm at the ITO regulator. We also started pumping out water on Saturday morning, which is now complemented by PWD pumps. However, it will take up to 48 hours for the water to be completely drained from parts of ITO,” said a senior official from the I&FC department.

Meanwhile, at the ITO barrage, one of the five jammed gates of the 32 gates was opened late at night and work was going on at the other gates. Delhi I&FC minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said that it will take up to 60 hours to open all the gates.

Meanwhile, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted about one of the gates at the barrage being opened. “After relentless efforts of 20 hours, the first jammed gate of ITO barrage was opened. Divers removed silt from underwater with a compressor and pulled the gate with a hydra crane. Soon all five gates will be opened. Special thanks to army engineer regiment and divers,” Kejriwal tweeted around 10pm on Friday.

Despite the reduced water level in Yamuna since Thursday evening, water entered the city and flooded parts of northeast Delhi around ITO, Indraprastha, and Mathura Road late on Thursday night, as parts of the regulator at ITO’s drain number 12 broke. Despite damage control efforts that lasted the entire night, the Indian army and the National Disaster Response Force were also roped in.