Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday urged the Centre to intervene to ensure that the water level of the Yamuna, flowing at an all-time high of 207.55 metres, doesn’t rise further and said news of flood in the capital will not send a good message to the world.
In a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, he requested that “if possible the water from Hathnikund barrage in Haryana be released in limited speed” and pointed out that Delhi is set to host the G-20 Summit meeting in a few weeks.
Notably, the Yamuna has already reached 207.55 metres, which is way above the danger mark of 205.33 metres at the Old Railway Bridge. As per experts, by tonight Yamuna will reach 207.72 metres, highest in the history recorded so far. Till now the highest recorded level of the Yamuna was 207.49 metres, which was recorded in 1978.
Arvind Kejriwal asserted that Delhi has not seen heavy rains for the last three days and Yamuna levels are rising due to large amounts of water being released from Hathnikund Barrage in Yamunanagar, Haryana.
The CM appealed to the Centre to release only controlled levels of water from Hathnikund so Delhi doesn’t flood further.
“It is well above the danger mark (205.33 m). Prior to this, the maximum level of Yamuna had been reached in the year 1978, which was 207.49 metres. At that time there was a flood in Delhi and the situation became very serious. At the level of 207.55 metres now Yamuna can flood anytime,” the letter reads.
The CM has further stated that according to the latest estimates of the Central Water Commission, the level of Yamuna will reach 207.72 metres tonight, which is a matter of great concern.
Further in the letter, Arvind Kejriwal has pointed out that it did not rain in Delhi for the last three days and the water level in the Yamuna in Delhi is not increasing due to the rains in Delhi but due to the water being released from the Hathnikund barrage located in Haryana.
“I humbly request you that if possible the water from Hathni Kund barrage should be released in limited and controlled volumes so that the level of Yamuna in Delhi does not increase further,” the letter reads.
The CM has also stated that Delhi is the capital of the country and the G20 summit is going to be held here in a few weeks. “The news of flooding in the national capital will not send a good message to the world. Together we all have to save the people of Delhi from this situation,” the letter reads.
The CM also took to Twitter to talk about the situation. He wrote, “Central Water Commission predicts 207.72 metres water level in Yamuna tonight. Not good news for Delhi. There have been no rains in Delhi in the last 2 days, however, levels of Yamuna are rising due to abnormally high volumes of water being released by Haryana at Hathnikund barrage. Urge Centre to intervene and ensure that levels in Yamuna don’t rise further. Highest Flood Level 207.49m (in 1978). Current Level 207.55m”.
