Alipur embankment breached a second time, nearby areas flooded

Spanning both Ghaziabad and Baghpat districts of Uttar Pradesh, the embankment shields around 16 villages from the Yamuna, upstream of Wazirabad

Late Wednesday evening brought forth a major scare to the safety of nine villages nestled along the Yamuna in Ghaziabad’s Loni, as the 18km long Alipur embankment, their sole safeguard against the Yamuna waters and flooding, suffered a breach of approximately 10 metres, officials said.

Residents caring belonging from flooded Yamuna river to a safer place near Sonia Vihar, New Delhi, India on Thursday. (Sakib Ali/HT Photo)

According to police, they received information about the breach around 6pm and rushed to the spot to assess the situation.

“The magnitude of the damage was deeply alarming, as it had the potential to exacerbate, allowing floodwaters to inundate the villages. However, through the collaborative efforts of our teams, utilising sandbags and tin sheets, we managed to repair the breach by 10pm. The operation concluded successfully within a span of four hours,” said assistant commissioner of police (Loni), Rajneesh Kumar Upadhyaya.

However, that relief was short-lived. By Thursday evening, the Alipur embankment suffered a second breach near Subhanpur.

“This has resulted in the flooding of nearby localities and teams have been rushed to the site to bridge the gap. The breach is about five metres wide and teams are trying to control it. The site is near the Ghaziabad and Baghpat border,” Hari Pratap Singh, tehsildar, Loni, said.

“The water level is perilously high-- it’s flowing 3.1 metres above the danger mark. The Uttar Pradesh irrigation department said 3.9 lakh (390,000) cusecs of water had been released from Tajewala Barrage in Haryana three days ago, with its effects visible after a 72-hour transit period. However, we are expecting a reduction in the water release from Tajewala,” said an official from the irrigation department, asking not to be named.

Officials said the embankment optimal threshold rests at an elevation of 213.3 metres. “The breach in the embankment was successfully repaired after four hours of concerted efforts. To ensure the situation remains under scrutiny, monitoring teams have been deployed around the clock at the site,” said Shalvi Agarwal, subdivisional magistrate, Loni.

Currently, the Yamuna has surpassed the critical mark of 209m, and is now at 212.1m near Loni, well above the highest flood level of 211.4m recorded in 2013 floods and 211.1m mark recorded during the disastrous floods of 1978.

The state irrigation department and district administration have deployed multiple teams to monitor and anticipate any further flood-related incidents.

Residents near Badarpur and Pychara villages said they experienced a major scare when the breach took place. “We haven’t witnessed such a dramatic surge in water levels since decades. The rapid flow has ruthlessly swept away tents, shanties, and crops from the flood zone. This situation has persisted for the past four to five days, with water levels continuing to go up. The embankment serves as our only safety line, and that being breached is terrifying,” said Satish Chauhan, former village chief and a resident of Pychara village.