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Yamuna water level in Delhi reduces to 207.31m, expected to go down further
An irrigation and flood control official said that the long range forecast indicates that the water levels will remain stable and above the danger level
The Yamuna water level at Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge reduced to 207.31m at 9am on Friday, even as parts of the city remained inundated. The Central Water Commission (CWC) said the level was expected to reach 207.15m by 8pm and continue to decrease incrementally.
An irrigation and flood control official said that the long range forecast indicates that the water levels will remain stable and above the danger level, causing waterlogging due to poor outfall.
Rains upstream have primarily fed the river. There was also over 72mm of rain in Delhi since Monday, and the sustained release of water from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana. “Over 1.3 lakh cusecs of water were still being released from Hathnikund barrage. The long-range forecast of the CWC shows that the river is likely to remain above 207m in the next few days,” the official said. The regulators from drains remained closed at eight locations due to the high water level.
The Yamuna surged to its third-highest level ever, forcing thousands to leave homes and the government to step up efforts to prevent waterlogging on Wednesday. It was flowing above the evacuation threshold at 207.47m at 9am on Thursday, a day after the river waters gushed into parts of north and east Delhi.
At 11pm on Wednesday, the Yamuna was flowing at a height of 207.44m, nearly a metre-and-a-half above the evacuation threshold, and just short of 207.49m, the level it reached during the floods of 1978.
In 2023, Delhi suffered the worst floods when the Yamuna hit an all-time peak of 208.66m on July 13. Delhi is expected to receive more rain this week
The Hathnikund barrage was filled to 99.9% of capacity at 11pm on Wednesday. Its hourly discharge was between 184,000 and 158,000 cusecs per hour.
On Wednesday evening, the water slushed over Outer Ring Road, hitting traffic between Majnu ka Tila and Salimgarh bypass in north Delhi. Police put up diversions from Wazirabad to Signature Bridge and from Chandgi Ram Akhada to the IP College traffic signal.
Water crept into areas around Civil Lines and the Delhi Secretariat. The turn from Ring Road to Civil Lines was down in waist-deep water. A breach in the Mungeshpur drain, a subsidiary of the larger Najafgarh drain, late on Tuesday, inundated much of Geetanjali Enclave in Jharoda Kalan.
