Yamuna continues to flow above evacuation mark day after flooding parts of Delhi
The river surged to its third-highest level ever, forcing thousands to leave homes and the government to step up efforts to prevent waterlogging on Wednesday
The Yamuna continued to flow 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. The river surged to its third-highest level ever, forcing thousands to leave homes and the government to step up efforts to prevent water logging on Wednesday.
The Central Water Commission (CWC) said the water level was expected to go down to 207.32m by 8pm on Thursday. The level continued to rise through the night and somewhat stabilised around 6am at 207.48m on Thursday. It remained so until 7am and touched 207.47m an hour later.
Evacuations continued late on Wednesday in Old Usmanpur, Garhi Mendu, Yamuna Bazar, Ladakh Budh Vihar Colony, Pakistani Hindu refugee camp near Majnu ka Tilla, and the surrounding area of Nigambodh, Mayur Vihar floodplain, and Madanpur Khadar, Jaitpur, etc.
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.
Rains upstream 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.
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.
