Delhi: Yamuna water level nears warning mark

On Friday morning, the water level of the Yamuna river at Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge was recorded at 204.3 metres (m), which is close to the warning level of 204.5 m.

The level rose after 11,055 cusecs of water was released from Haryana’s Hathni Kund Barrage into the Yamuna at 8 am on Friday.

While the water level was slightly higher than Thursday’s 203.7 m recorded at 8 am, it was still lower than Monday’s level of 204.3 m -- the first time this year, when it was recorded to be close to the warning mark.

The Delhi government’s Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department officials said that the level recorded is much below the warning mark and might go up only if a higher volume of water is released, or if the national capital is lashed by heavy rains.

“Some parts of Delhi received light rainfall on Friday. If the intensity of the rainfall increases coupled with the release of more water from the barrage, the level may surge further,” said an official from the state flood control department.

“The water is released into the barrage every four hours. On a regular basis, only 350 cusecs of water is being released. During monsoon, because of higher volume of water in the barrage coupled with rainfall in the hilly regions, more water is released. This leads to a rising water level in the Yamuna. It takes between 36 and 72 hours for the released water to reach the river in Delhi. We are continuously monitoring the water level,” he added.

Last year, Haryana had released over eight lakh cusecs of water in a day into the river after which the water level had breached the danger mark of 205.3 m.

I&FC officials said that preparations are underway in case a higher volume of water is released and evacuation operations needed to be initiated. “We have identified suitable locations for pitching tents. Since social distancing is a norm due to the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic, we have identified schools that are closed because of the viral outbreak. The flood-hit people will be provided shelter in these closed schools while maintaining adequate social distancing norms,” the official said.

Delhi had reported a major flood in 1978, when the river’s water level had risen to the highest ever at 207.4 m.

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