Delhi floods: Arterial Vikas Marg inundated even as water level in Yamuna dips

In an advisory, the Delhi police said the traffic movement was affected on the arterial Vikas Marg towards ITO due to the overflow of flood waters

The water level in the Yamuna decreased from 208.58 metres at midnight to 208.40 metres at 9am on Friday even as it remained three metres above the danger mark, inundating the arterial Vikas Marg, one of the lifelines of east Delhi linking the trans-Yamuna region to the rest of the Capital, among other places.

The water level in the Yamuna decreased to 208.40 metres at 9am on Friday. (Hindustan Times)

Central Revenues Building housing the Income Tax Department office, the School of Planning and Architect, the old headquarters of the Delhi Police, and the Public Works Department (PWD) office of the Delhi government were among the buildings marooned.

In an advisory, the Delhi police said the traffic movement was affected on the Vikas Marg towards ITO due to the overflow of flood water. The commuters have been advised to avoid this stretch and instead take National Highway 24 via Akshardham.

Floodwaters started accumulating near the Supreme Court, portions of Bhagwan Das Road, and Mathura Road by 10pm on Thursday. In a statement, the Delhi government said a regulator was damaged near Indraprastha Bus Stand and WHO Building. Irrigation and flood control minister Saurabh Bhardwaj rushed to the spot to monitor the situation. The statement said the work to fix the situation continued throughout the night and Bharadwaj was monitoring the situation.

Bhardwaj said, “Whole night, our teams worked to fix the damage...Still, the water of Yamuna is entering the city through this breach. The chief secretary has been directed to take it up on highest priority.”

Chief minister Arvind Kejriwal said the regulator breach is causing flooding of ITO and surrounding areas. “Engineers have been working the whole night. I have directed the chief secretary to seek the help of the Army/NDRF [National Disaster Response Force] but this should be fixed urgently.”

The vehicular traffic and pedestrian traffic continued on the flooded Vikas Marg. An official said the issue of electric shocks was promptly fixed as soon as the issue came to light. TV channels reported that multiple pedestrians suffered electric shocks when they touched an electric pole while wading through the flooded stretch on Vikas Marg near PWD headquarters.

An official said the water that started accumulating on the Vikas Marg on Thursday evening increased on Friday. “It happened due to the backflow of water. We are checking why the level of floodwaters has increased despite a decrease in the Yamuna level,” said a second official.

Raj Ghat, Mahatma Gandhi Memorial were among other places that remained submerged even as officials said the water level in Yamuna was likely to decrease further.

In a tweet, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena said Prime Minister Narendra Modi called him from France to inquire about the flood situation and directed appropriate steps, taking all possible help from the central government.

Officials said 23,692 people have been evacuated so far while 1022 have been rescued from flooded areas.

The deluge has forced the closure of three water treatment plants, prompting the government to ask people to conserve water and announce rationalising of supply to deal with a looming shortage.

The Delhi government on Thursday closed schools, colleges, and universities until Sunday. It asked people to not step out of their houses and called for offices to allow their staff to work from home.

The Yamuna touched 208.66 metres at 7pm on Wednesday, the highest level ever recorded and more than three metres above the danger mark. On Wednesday, the river had swelled to 208.08 metres at 11pm, breaking the previous record of 207.49 on September 6, 1978, the last time the city suffered floods.