Unprecedented amounts of rainfall are being recorded all across North India, in the states of Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, and the national capital of India, Delhi. Amidst heavy rainfall and water-logging in Delhi, the level of River Yamuna is inching towards the danger level, and this is also because Haryana released huge amounts of water into the river from the Hathnikund barrage.
As per predictions, the Yamuna is expected to cross the warning level on Tuesday, July 11, at around 11 AM in the morning, as a large quantity of water is being discharged into the upper reaches of the river. The water level of the Yamuna is 204.50 metres, while the danger mark is 204.33 metres, and after the water level reached 204.63 metres on Monday afternoon, at 1 PM, the city authorities issued a ‘yellow alert’.
PWD Minister Atishi Marlena said, ‘Water is rushing in the Yamuna towards Delhi very fast due to very heavy rainfall in north Indian states. Around 43,000 cusecs of water were being discharged into Yamuna from Haryana till yesterday morning that has increased to nearly three lakh cusecs now. We expect the level of water in Yamuna to reach the danger mark around 10-11 am on Tuesday.’
In the light of the situation, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called a meeting, and in a press-conference following that, said that the evacuation process of the people residing in the low-lying areas near the Yamuna will commence once the river touches the 206-metre mark. He stated that the Delhi government was monitoring the situation closely and was in constant touch with the CWC (Central Water Commission).
Kejriwal said, ‘The unprecedented rain caused problems for people and Delhi’s system was not able to withstand it. Every year after rainfall, some vulnerable areas are waterlogged and the water is drained out in a couple of hours. But the 153 mm of rainfall was unprecedented and an event which happened in nearly 40 years.’
‘Due to rains, there might have been some potholes that could have formed on roads. They will be filled with stones to avert any untoward incident. We have also ordered an inquiry into incidents of road cave-in. The area under New Delhi Municipal Council, which is a VVIP area, witnessed waterlogging. We have asked them (NDMC) to resolve the issues.’, added Kejriwal.
