Yamuna’s level dips below danger zone after two days

At 8pm on Saturday, the water level in the river was recorded at 205.88 metres, but by 7am on Sunday it dropped to 204.88, below the danger mark.By 6pm on Sunday, the river was flowing at 204.59 metres.

The water level in the Yamuna dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Sunday, officials in the irrigation and flood control department said, and added that it expected to go down further even as Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal advised people to stay away from the banks of the river.

Residents living along the bank of Yamuna river relocated to makeshift shelters as the river water level rose, at Shastri Park near ISBT in New Delhi. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

The officials said that water level in the river, which breached the danger mark on Friday, started going down from Saturday evening. At 8pm on Saturday, the water level in the river was recorded at 205.88 metres, but by 7am on Sunday it dropped to 204.88, below the danger mark.By 6pm on Sunday, the river was flowing at 204.59 metres.

Officials said with the impact of water released from Hathinikund Barrage stabilising, water levels in the Yamuna have started receding. “We were expecting that water will recede faster in the coming days, and the situation in the areas that have been flooded by the surging river will improve,” an official from flood control department said.

On Sunday morning, Kejriwal appealed to the residents to avoid going near the banks of the river. “It is my appeal that people should avoid going towards river bank as water levels have risen. For people living near Yamuna, the administration has made adequate arrangements. Please cooperate with the government. We are monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with any eventuality,” he tweeted.

The water levels at Old Railway bridge--which is considered as standard benchmark for assessing the flood situation in the capital-- had started rising after several lakh cusecs of water was released from Hathnikund barrage located 228kms upstream in Haryana’s Yamunanagar on Thursday. A government official said that the city considers 204.5 m water level at the bridge to be ’warning level’, 205.33m is considered ’danger level’ while 206m is ‘evacuation level’. Yamuna recorded its highest level so far at the old bridge in 1978, when it reached 207.49 metres on September 6, 1978.

The administration in the districts located along the Yamuna had started evacuating people living on the floodplains from Friday night. A government official said that around 7000 people were shifted to higher areas in temporary tents. An estimated 37,000 people live in Yamuna floodplains. A few low-lying area such as the areas around the Old Iron Bridge, Usmanpur Pushta, Kisan Basti towards Kashmere Gate ISBT, Kisan Basti towards Seelampur, Garhi Mandu village, MCD toll plaza at Sonia Vihar, Annapurna Mandir, Sabhapur bus terminal and Badarpur Khadar village are considered vulnerable.

A second government official said, “We have designated community centres and schools for accommodating more people if the water level breaches 206metre-mark,” official added. Five districts in Delhi are considered flood-prone --- north-east, east, north, central and south-east districts. Till Sunday, around 2,000 people were moved to higher areas from north-east Delhi, 5,000 from east Delhi and 500 from south-east Delhi. Other districts that are located slightly higher, did not report flooding. The district administration has set up temporary tents near the Commonwealth Games Village, Hathi Ghat, Link Road, Akshadham Pushta and Ranney well near DND Flyway.