Yamuna swells to record level, thousands evacuated as flood fears grip Delhi

The Yamuna in Delhi has risen to an all-time high of 208.46 meters today, submerging low-lying areas and prompting evacuation measures.

The Central Water Commission has called it an “extreme situation” as the water flow into Yamuna is expected to peak at around 8-10 am today.

The water level in Yamuna was 208.46 metres at 7 am today as Hathnikund barrage in Haryana continues to release water into the river. Areas around the Monastery Market, Yamuna Bazar, Garhi Mandu, Geeta Ghat, Vishwakarma Colony, Khadda Colony, the areas around Neeli Chatri temple near Old Railway Bridge, Neem Karoli Gaushala and a stretch of Ring Road from Wazirabad to Majnu Ka Tila are now flooded.

The Geeta Colony crematorium, near the Yamuna River, has also been closed due to flooding. The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has urged citizens to use cremation facilities at Karkarduma and Ghazipur cremation grounds instead.

Due to the flood-like situation, 10 schools in low-lying areas of the Civil Lines zone of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and seven in the Shahadra area will remain closed today. Online classes will be held for students of those schools.

The Yamuna in Delhi swelled to a staggering 208.08 metres yesterday, smashing the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago by a significant margin. The water level rose to 208.08 metres by 11 pm.

There are two major barrages on the Yamuna — Dakpathar in Uttarakhand and Hathnikund in Haryana, upstream of Delhi. There are no dams on the river and, therefore, most of the monsoon flow remains unutilised, resulting in floods during the season.

Continued rainfall in the upper catchment areas and saturated soil due to heavy precipitation in Delhi and nearby regions over the weekend have contributed to the sharp rise in water levels. The rapid rise in water level prompted the Delhi Police to ban gatherings in flood-prone areas.

The water flow from the Haryana barrage is expected to start dropping from 2 pm onwards today but the India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rainfall to continue in Uttarakhand in the next two days, exacerbating the flooding risk.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, following an emergency meeting yesterday, urged residents in low-lying areas to evacuate. So far, over 16,500 people living in low-lying areas have been shifted to safer places at higher altitudes and embankments are being constructed in the low-lying areas to prevent the entry of floodwater into other parts of the national capital in case the Yamuna’s water level rises further.

Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena will chair a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority today. As many as 12 teams of the National Disaster Response Force are on the ground for rescue work.

Due to the inundation of low lying areas, traffic movement at Mahatma Gandhi Marg between IP Flyover and Chandgi Ram Akhara, Mahatma Gandhi Marg between Kalighat Mandir and Delhi Secretariat and Outer Ring Road between Wazirabad Bridge and Chandgi Ram Akhara has been affected.