An alert has been sounded by the Delhi government after the water level of the Yamuna crossed the danger mark, an official said.
The Irrigation and Flood Control department of the city government has made preparations to evacuate people residing in low-lying areas.
“The Water Level of River Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.10 metres at 7 PM on July 27 (above the warning level) and has a rising trend,” a statement issued by the East Delhi district administration said.
The district administrations have already deployed rescue boats for residents in the low-lying areas and floodplains. Safety advisory announcements were made on a speaker system. In addition, Quick Response Teams have been formed who are visiting villages in these areas to make people aware of the danger. While Haryana released around 1.36 lakh cusecs of water on Thursday morning, another 1.87 lakh cusecs was released around 7pm on Thursday. Water was also released on Friday, though in lesser quantity.
“Water released from Hathni Kund barrage, 200km north of Delhi, usually takes around two days to reach Delhi. The water level could rise more once the released water reaches Delhi,” said an official from the irrigation and flood control department.
The Met office has predicted more rain in the region.
“A low-pressure area over western Uttar Pradesh and its neighbourhood persists. This system will bring widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
