The water level in the Yamuna fell below the danger mark of 205.33 meters in Delhi on Sunday and is likely to fall further, officials said.The flood control room said the water level had dropped from 205.88 meters at 8pm on Saturday to 204.83 meters at 8am on Sunday. The river breached the danger mark of 205.33 meters around 4pm on Friday after heavy rain in the upper catchments, prompting authorities to evacuate about 7,000 people from low-lying areas. The level dropped below the danger mark around 2 am on Saturday.
According to the forecast, the water level is likely to drop to 204.75 meters between 11:00 am and 1:00 pm on Sunday and continue its downward trend thereafter. East Delhi Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Amod Barthwal said about 5,000 of the 13,000 people living in low-lying areas near the river were shifted to tents pitched near Commonwealth Games Village, Hathi Ghat and on Link Road. About 2,000 people have been moved to safer places in the northeastern district.
Karawal Nagar SDM Sanjay Sondhi said 200 people have been shifted to higher ground from low-lying areas and given drinking water, food and other necessities with the help of NGOs. A flood alert is sounded in Delhi as the discharge rate from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana’s Yamuna Nagar crosses the one lakh-cusecs mark. People living near flood areas and in flood-prone areas are then evacuated. “Approximately 37,000 people who live in the Yamuna floodplains and low-lying areas in Delhi are considered at risk of flooding. “People evacuated from low-lying areas in flood areas have been moved to temporary structures such as tents and permanent buildings such as schools in safer areas,” the official said.
The Delhi flood control room reported a flow of around 10,191 cusecs from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana’s Yamuna Nagar at 6 am. The highest discharge rate in the last 24 hours was 17,827 cusecs at 11:00 AM on Saturday. The discharge rate was 1.49 million cusecs at 1:00 a.m. Saturday and 2.21 million cusecs at 3:00 p.m. Thursday. One cusec corresponds to 28.32 liters per second. Normally, the flow at Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the flow increases after heavy rains in the catchments. Water released from the dam usually takes two to three days to reach the national capital.
According to the India Meteorological Department, “widespread rainfall with isolated heavy rain” is likely over Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Haryana on August 14 and 15. Last year, the Jamuna River breached the danger mark on July 30 and the water level near the Old Railway Bridge rose to 205.59 meters.In 2019, the flow reached a peak of 8.28 lakh cusecs on 18-19 August and the water level of the Yamuna reached 206.60 meters. In 1978, the river swelled to a record level of 207.49 meters. In 2013, it rose to 207.32 meters.
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