Alipur embankment keeps Yamuna flooding at bay as levels decline

The 18km long Alipur embankment serves as a protection for many villages falling under the jurisdiction of Ghaziabad, Baghpat, and Delhi

Ghaziabad The Alipur embankment in Ghaziabad district’s Loni is the only lifeline for 22-year-old Roshni, who has been staying here for past two days with her family ever since water levels in Yamuna began to rise and “half submerged” her house on the floodplains of the river.

Workers at Subhanpur putting up additional sandbags to protect the Alipur embankment which suffered a major breach at the site during floods in 2023 in Ghaziabad , on Wednesday.

“Water entered our houses two days ago, around 5pm on Monday. Since then, we moved to the embankment, and about 20-25 families, whose houses submerged, have been staying here under open sky. The food is being distributed to us. But the drinking water tanker came on Tuesday. No one warned before the water levels began to rise. We are staying in plastic sheets,” Roshni said.

She said her house, built about 5-6 years ago by family, first submerged during the 2023 flooding. “Then, my house was fully submerged. We lost almost all household items. We could not take up repairs due to high cost. Now, the house is almost half-submerged, and its condition will further deteriorate,” Roshni added.

The 18km long Alipur embankment serves as a protection for many villages falling under the jurisdiction of Ghaziabad, Baghpat, and Delhi. These include Badarpur Khadar, Pychara, Nauraspur, Alipur, Mirpur Hindu, Lutfullapur Nawada, Khanpur Japti, Harampur, and Ilaichipur, among others.

The Yamuna banks are also used by locals for farming and fisheries.

“I operate a boat and take up farming on about 10 bigha of land on the banks of the Yamuna. Ever since the water level rose, I have stopped rowing the boat. In 2023, all my agricultural produce was damaged as the water level was about 5-6 feet higher than this time. This time, some items have survived. But items like radishes, coriander, spinach, etc., have been damaged. The water levels rose on Monday and Tuesday and are now declining. However, taking the boat in water is still risky,” said Khedu Ram, a 45-year-old boatman from Sangrurpur village.

The Alipur embankment in July, 2023 suffered a major breach near Subhanpur in Baghpat district, leading to major flooding of floodplains besides the internal areas of Loni and also the industrial area of Tronica City.

On Wednesday, the workers were seen putting up additional sandbags at the breach site to prevent damage to the embankment that can withstand water levels of up to 213.3 metres.

The UP irrigation department officials said the highest flood level (HFL) ever at Pyachara village was recorded at 212.15 metres in 2023. The previous highest HFL was 211.4 metres in 2013.

“The discharge in Yamuna was about 91,012 cusecs, recorded at 210.6 metres on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning, the level was 209.9 metres with a discharge of about 79,000 cusecs. By evening, the discharge decreased to about 51,000 cusecs with level at 209.45 metres, indicating the water level has reduced. Anyone having constructions in floodplains will face the issue of flooding. However, we are regularly monitoring the situation,” said Binod Kumar Singh, executive engineer from head works division, Agra canal, Okhla.

Saurabh Bhatt, additional district magistrate (finance and revenue), said that teams are regularly monitoring the situation.

“We are helping the locals, whether from villages in Ghaziabad or from Delhi, by way of providing food and water supply. Officials from Delhi are also monitoring the situation. We even requested those staying on the floodplains/embankment to be shifted to other places. But they declined and were not ready to move out. The water level is in decline, and we hope that situation improves further,” Bhatt added.