Kejriwal takes stock as Yamuna swells; asks people to shift, lists emergency numbers

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that the Yamuna is likely to breach the danger mark this evening.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Monday said that the Yamuna is likely to breach the danger mark this evening. He was speaking after taking stock of the government’s preparedness if the surging river was to spill over after flooded Haryana released water into the river.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal addresses a media briefing on the issue of the Yamuna river’s rising water levels at the Delhi Secretariat Media Center in New Delhi on Monday, August 19, 2019. (Sonu Mehta/HT PHOTO)

“8.28 lakh cusecs of water was released into the Yamuna by Haryana yesterday at 6 pm. It takes roughly 36-72 hours for the water to reach Delhi. We are estimating that the Yamuna will cross its danger mark this evening in the city,” the chief minister said at the press conference.

The chief minister urged those living on and along the floodplains of the Yamuna to evacuate and shift to the tents put up by the Delhi government. He said that the government has built 2120 tents and provided water, electricity, and food supplies.

Watch: Yamuna surges towards danger mark, CM Kejriwal says ‘all measures in place’

“In total, 23,816 people need to be evacuated. We request all those living along the floodplains to shift to these tents, especially the children. The government has also opened an emergency number - 011-22421656. The number of the SDM Preet Vihar, who is the nodal officer to central control room, is 21210849,” the CM said.

Rains have played havoc in several north Indian states with 30 people losing their lives to floods, landslides and cloudbursts. The hill states of Himachal Pradesh, with 23 deaths, and Uttarakhand, with 7 deaths, have borne the brunt of the rain fury. Three people have died in Punjab.

Kejriwal hinted that the water released by Haryana on Sunday evening was the highest ever volume released into the Yamuna in recent times.

“It was in 2013 that Haryana had released 8.06 lakh cusecs of water and that time the water level had touched 207.32 metres. This time the water released is even more than that. So, the situation is critical and it will remain so for the next two days,” he said. The danger mark of the river in Delhi is 205.33 metres.