Yamuna level rises by almost 2 metres in Noida, district administration issues alert

According to officials from the irrigation department, the downstream level of the Yamuna at the Okhla Barrage was recorded at 199.85m at 5pm Wednesday, which is 1.85m higher than Tuesday’s level recorded at the same time

The waters in river Yamuna rose by 1.85 metres at the Okhla Barrage in Noida on Wednesday, bringing it just 0.75 metres short of the danger level, said irrigation department officials.

The district fire department rescued over 300 cattle from several private cowsheds located on the floodplains in Chaprauli and Mangrauli villages of Sector 168 in Noida, officials said, (Sunil Ghosh/HT Photo)

While the irrigation department of Uttar Pradesh has not yet issued an alert for low-lying areas, the district administration has done so, and advised people living near the floodplains to make arrangements to move to safer locations.

According to officials from the irrigation department, the downstream level of the Yamuna at the Okhla Barrage was recorded at 199.85m at 5pm Wednesday, which is 1.85m higher than Tuesday’s level recorded at the same time.

“The danger mark for the Yamuna at Okhla Barrage is 200.6 metres. The upstream level has reached 200 metres on Wednesday, while on Tuesday it was recorded at 199.20m. We have not issued any alert for villages located near the riverbanks as yet because the river level is still below danger level. However, we are keeping a constant watch on developments and are coordinating with the district administration,” said BK Sharma, executive engineer, head works division, Agra Canal-Okhla, irrigation department, Uttar Pradesh.

He added that at 5pm on Wednesday, the Okhla Barrage recorded 179,000 cusecs water discharge, which is 137,000 cusecs higher than that on Tuesday.

On the other hand, the district magistrate on Wednesday said the Gautam Budh Nagar administration has issued an alert for all villages that are located near the floodplains.

“The district administration has identified over 50 villages in Gautam Budh Nagar that are located along the Yamuna banks or near the floodplains. An alert has been issued to all these villages that have an approximate population of 50,000, asking people to move to safer areas before the river level breaches the danger mark at the Okhla Barrage,” said Manish Verma, district magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar.

He added that a flood control room has been set up with the helpline number 0120-2974274 and mobile number 9811363725.

“Residents do not have to panic and must contact the control room in case they need rehabilitation while moving to safer places. The subdivisional magistrates have been directed to ensure that villagers are provided with alternative options to move from their homes in case they decide to do so,” said the DM.

However, so far, no evacuation drive is being planned by the administration, Yadav said.

Cattle rescued from floodplains

The district fire department rescued over 300 cattle from several private cowsheds located on the floodplains in Chaprauli and Mangrauli villages of Sector 168 in Noida, officials said,

“We received information around 3pm that the river has submerged the floodplains where cowsheds are located and the cattle of several farmers needed to be rescued. Rescue teams were deployed immediately and after a six-hour long operation, 300 cows and calves were rescued from the floodplains,” said Pradeep Kumar Chaubey, chief fire officer, Gautam Budh Nagar.

At the time of writing this report, personnel of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) were also involved in the rescue operations of about 80 more cows stuck in submerged sheds, Chaubey said.

District magistrate Verma added that the administration officials were constantly keeping track of the rescue operations.

“The Yamuna waters only submerged the outskirts of the residential areas of the villages. None of the houses in any of the villages has been flooded,” said the DM.

Farmers in the low-lying village have raised concerns about their crops after the fields got flooded.

“At least 400-500 bighas (250-300 acres) of our land which had crops of paddy and jowar have been flooded. None of the officials alerted us about this situation and now we have suffered huge losses,” said Nem Singh, a resident of Momnathal village with a population of 5,000, located on the banks of the river in Sector 150, Noida.

He said the residential area of the village is located on higher ground and is safe from flooding.

Verma said currently, the major concern of the administration is to ensure that there is no loss of life.

“An estimate of crops destroyed by flooding will be drawn up by the government once the river water recedes. Currently, we cannot stop the river from swelling and can only advise residents to ensure that they move to higher ground if they feel that the river could flood their homes,” said the DM.