Yamuna crosses 207m mark, spills over banks into Capital
Nearly 12,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas as the waters flooded the Monastery Market in Civil Lines and Vishwakarma Colony in Jaitpur
The Yamuna’s waters gushed into parts of north and east Delhi on Wednesday, flooding roads, parks, markets and cremation grounds as the river surged to its third-highest level ever, prompting thousands to leave their homes and the government to step up efforts to prevent waterlogging.
As of 11pm, the river 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 the Yamuna reached during the calamitous floods of 1978.
The river was being fed primarily by showers upstream, over 72mm of rain in the city since Monday and the sustained release of water from the Hathnikund barrage upstream in Haryana, which has been filled to the brim for days now on the back of relentless rain in northern India.
Wednesday’s floods triggered memories of the 2023 floods – Delhi’s worst ever, when the Yamuna hit an all-time peak of 208.66m on July 13.
Delhi will likely receive more rain this week, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecast.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) warned that the Yamuna’s waters would surge to 207.49m at 8am on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}The Central Water Commission (CWC) warned that the Yamuna’s waters would surge to 207.49m at 8am on Thursday.
{{/usCountry}}The Hathnikund barrage filled to 99.9% of capacity as of 11pm on Wednesday and its hourly discharge was between 184,000 and 158,000 cusecs per hour.
{{/usCountry}}The Hathnikund barrage filled to 99.9% of capacity as of 11pm on Wednesday and its hourly discharge was between 184,000 and 158,000 cusecs per hour.
{{/usCountry}}Nearly 12,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas since Tuesday, government officials said, as the waters flooded the popular Monastery Market in Civil Lines and Vishwakarma Colony in Jaitpur. Floodwaters also cascaded into Nigambodh Ghat, which carried out cremations till around 3pm before turning people away as the river’s waters crept towards the main pyre.
{{/usCountry}}Nearly 12,000 people have been evacuated from low-lying areas since Tuesday, government officials said, as the waters flooded the popular Monastery Market in Civil Lines and Vishwakarma Colony in Jaitpur. Floodwaters also cascaded into Nigambodh Ghat, which carried out cremations till around 3pm before turning people away as the river’s waters crept towards the main pyre.
{{/usCountry}}By evening, the water slushed over Outer Ring Road, hitting traffic between Majnu ka Tila and Salimgarh bypass in north Delhi. The Delhi traffic police hurriedly put up diversions from Wazirabad to Signature Bridge and Chandgi Ram Akhada to the IP College traffic signal.
{{/usCountry}}By evening, the water slushed over Outer Ring Road, hitting traffic between Majnu ka Tila and Salimgarh bypass in north Delhi. The Delhi traffic police hurriedly put up diversions from Wazirabad to Signature Bridge and Chandgi Ram Akhada to the IP College traffic signal.
{{/usCountry}}Within hours, the Yamuna began to push past its embankments and inch into nearby neighbourhoods. Residents said 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.
Meanwhile, a breach in the Mungeshpur drain – a subsidiary of the larger Najafgarh drain – late on Tuesday inundated much of Geetanjali Enclave in Jharoda Kalan.
At the time, the Yamuna’s waters breached embankments and retraced its original, expansive path, spilling into several neighbourhoods and Delhi landmarks, including Red Fort.
Jasmine Sahi (27), was among the people evacuated from the colony behind Monastery Market. “Water started rising steadily from Wednesday morning… I am going to stay with a friend in Model Town till the water clears,” said Sahi.
The Delhi government said they had prepared to stop a rerun of 2023.
Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) minister Parvesh Verma said that the carrying capacity of the river channel had been increased over the past six months.
“Even if the level reaches 209m, water will not enter Delhi. However, we don’t think such a situation will arise. I believe that the water level will start to decrease from today (Wednesday evening),” he said, while reviewing the ITO barrage – one of the three barrages in Delhi used to regulate the river flow in the national capital.
The district administration said teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) had been deployed.
“Between 10,000 to 12,000 people have been rescued so far, with the number of people in tents fluctuating as some leave to stay with their relatives. Relief camps are there at 38 locations and while over 2,000 people are in permanent shelters, the remaining are in tents,” said a government official, aware of the matter.
“Tents and relief camps have all the basic amenities including food, water and toilets. Teams have also been deployed for helping people evacuate their cattle,” the official added.
CWC data showed that the Yamuna’s waters touched 207m at 1pm, 207.09m at 3pm and 207.27m at 5pm. In comparison, the water level at 5pm on Tuesday was 206.10m.
Even as officials and agencies predicted that the water was unlikely to breach the 2023 record, it would possibly breach the 1978 mark of 207.49m – the second-highest ever.
“We are better prepared this time around. All ITO barrage gates are open. All regulators are also in proper shape,” said an I&FC official.
In 2023, a regulator at ITO on drain number 12 broke – severely impacting the area as water flooded parts of ITO. Meanwhile, five ITO barrage gates were also jammed that year, impacting the amount of water that could escape and pass through.
Experts also said unlike 1978, when Delhi had rudimentary embankments, these have subsequently been strengthened.
“Despite crossing a height of 207m in 2010 and 2013, the impact in terms of submerged area was minimal. However, 2023 was an exception as we had never seen such water level before, worsened by issues at ITO. They included jammed gates and a broken regulator that led to the river flooding ITO through drain number 12,” said Bhim Singh Rawat, associate coordinator at the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People, adding that in 2023, there were multiple breaches upstream too. “We have not seen something like that yet.”
