Kejriwal seeks NDRF, Army's help as Yamuna threatens to flood Supreme Court

Yamuna River water is still entering Delhi through a breach at a regulator, exacerbating the already dire flooding situation in the city.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday said that the water of the Yamuna River still entering through a breach at a regulator of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department. The regulator suffered damage near the Indraprastha bus stand and the WHO Building on Drain No 12, exacerbating the already dire situation.

Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal with Delhi health minister Saurabh Bharadwaj at Wazirabad water treatment plant in New Delhi on Thursday. (PTI)

The compromised regulator allowed the Yamuna water to flow back towards the city, and on Thursday night, the flood water reached close to the Supreme Court due to the possible backflow of water from drains. Some portions of Mathura Road and Bhagwan Das Road near the Supreme Court were flooded.

Kejriwal said the breach is causing flooding in ITO and surroundings.

"I have directed the Chief Secretary to seek help of Army/NDRF but this shud be fixed urgently," he said in a tweet.

Bharadwaj, Irrigation and Flood Control minister in the AAP-led Delhi government, rushed to the scene Thursday evening to oversee the evolving situation.

"On CM Arvind Kejriwal's instructions, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj is himself present on the spot as of now and is monitoring the whole situation himself. He is arranging for all possible resources that can be deployed to control the flow,” the Delhi government said in a statement.

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According to the latest update, the water has now reached the entrance of the top court even as the water level of the Yamuna River has decreased to 208.44 meters at the Old Railway Bridge at 7 am today against 208.66 metres at 8 pm last night, which is the highest ever recorded.

“Whole night, our teams worked to fix the damage at regulator of drain no 12 near WHO building,” Bharadwaj said in a tweet. “Still, the water of Yamuna is entering the city through this breach. The Govt has directed Chief Secretary to take it up on highest priority.”

Bhardwaj also said that Kejriwal will visit ITO at 11am to inspect the drain regulator.

Drinking water shortage

The city is also staring at a drinking water shortage as three water treatment plants had to be stopped after they were inundated with flood water. The Delhi government said the inundation of a pump house at Wazirabad impeded operations at Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla water treatment plants, leading to a 25 per cent drop in the water supply.