Janjivan Bureau / New Delhi : As the raging Yamuna in Delhi swelled to 207.55 metres on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978 and posing a threat of floods in the city, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called an emergency meeting.
The meeting will be held at the Delhi Secretariat where senior officers of all departments concerned will be present, said a Delhi government official.
Taking to Twitter, he stated, “Central Water Commission predicts 207.72 meter water level in Yamuna tonite. Not good news for Delhi. There have been no rains in Delhi 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
After breaching the all-time record water level, the water from the Yamuna entered the low-lying areas along the banks of the river. Thousands of people have been evacuated and shifted to safer places.
According to the Central Water Commission’s (CWC) flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 207-metre mark at 4 am, the first time since 2013, and rose to 207.55 metres by 1 pm.
The river is likely to rise further, an official of the irrigation and flood control department said.
Delhi recorded a rapid increase in the Yamuna water level over the last three days.
It shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected.
The river had exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres on Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and a closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic.
Delhi water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj told the media that the city government was prepared to deal with the situation. “We are monitoring the situation and all possible steps are being taken,” he said.
