Swollen Yamuna river enters houses in Delhi, Loha Pul to be shut for traffic

The water level of the Yamuna river rose to 205.75 metres at the Loha Pull or also known as Delhi's Old Railway Bridge on Tuesday morning.

Heavy rain and release of water from the Hathnikund Barrage in neighbouring Haryana has led to the Yamuna river in Delhi mostly flowing above the danger mark for days now, necessitating authorities to schedule stopping traffic and public movement near Loha Pull in the city from 5 pm on Tuesday.

A view of the Yamuna River in Delhi, where water levels have been rising sharply due to heavy discharge from the Hathnikund barrage.(Arvind Yadav/Hindustan Times)

The water level of the Yamuna river rose to 205.75 metres at the Loha Pull or also known as Delhi's Old Railway Bridge on Tuesday morning, crossing the danger mark of 205.33 metres, an official 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 Old Railway Bridge over Yamuna in Delhi serves as a key observation point for tracking the river's flow and potential flood risks.

Yamuna water enters residential colonies

Reports said that Yamuna river breached its banks in Yamuna Bazaar area, with water entering residential colonies and forcing people to shift to relief camps.

On Monday, disaster management authorities said the water level at the Old Railway Bridge stood at 204.94 metres at 5 pm. The Hathnikund Barrage recorded a discharge of 292,365 cusecs, while the Wazirabad Barrage reported 41,830 cusecs. Further downstream, the Okhla Barrage recorded a discharge of 56,455 cusecs.

Authorities attribute the frequent release of water from Wazirabad and Hathnikund barrages to the rising water level of Yamuna in Delhi.

All gates of Okhla Barrage were open on Tuesday morning as Yamuna river was in full spate.

The authorities have advised people living in the Yamuna floodplains to relocate to safe locations as the water level of the river is predicted to reach the evacuation mark of 206 metres by Tuesday evening.

Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta on Monday assured that the government is fully prepared to handle the situation.

Delhi and its adjoining cities of Haryana's Gurugram, Faridabad as well as Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad and Noida have been receiving unusual rain for this time of the year, bringing down temperatures to below normal.

On Monday, parts of Delhi and the national capital region (NCR) – especially Gurugram – were choked after it rained almost entire day and led to waterlogging and massive traffic snarls.