Yamuna recedes, government says no need to panic, situation under control

NEW DELHI: A day after Yamuna touched the danger mark in Delhi, the water has started to recede.

NEW DELHI: A day after Yamuna touched the danger mark in Delhi, the water has started to recede.

HT Image

At 6.30 pm on Sunday, the level was recorded at 204.67 metres. The danger level is 204.83 metres.

There have been heavy rains in Uttarakhand, where the river originates from and Haryana, which it passes through before reaching Delhi, over the past week. Haryana was forced to release more water than it usually does, pushing the water up to the danger mark.

The river touched 204.9 metres on Sunday morning but started falling after that.

According to water minister Kapil Mishra, close to 60 people were rescued between Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Thirty people and one buffalo living on the floodplains in Burari were evacuated by the teams of the Flood and Irrigation Department. Ten rescue teams with divers patrolled the area.

“Quick response vehicles, divers, boats and disaster management teams were all on duty all night. The situation is under control and there is no need to panic. The water is receding,” Mishra said.

“Haryana is not planning to release more water to Delhi than it usually does. Things are under control and we are monitoring the situation,” he said.

The iron bridge (Loha Pul) was closed on Saturday as a precautionary measure. 15 trains were cancelled and 100 diverted.

In 1978, the water level in Yamuna touched 207.49 metres – the highest ever. That year water entered houses in Adarsh Nagar, Model town and Mukerjee Nagar.