Flood control department on alert!
On Wednesday the Yamuna was flowing at 205.12m at 9am in Delhi after remaining above the danger mark (205.33m) for over eight hours even as the flood control department remained on alert following heavy rainfall in Himachal Pradesh that has left over 50 people dead.
The water level was 21cm below the danger mark as per the last update from the department officials and is expected to go down further. The river swelled to an all-time high of 208.66m on July 13, flooding low-lying areas in the Capital and prompting large-scale evacuations. The Yamuna waters level in Delhi was last recorded above the danger level on July 29.
An official said they were on alert but there was no alarming situation. “The water released from Hathni Kund Barrage [in Haryana] has been less than 50,000 cusecs over the last 24 hours and it has been progressively going down. The current water release from the barrage is around 18,000 cusecs and the water levels are expected to further go down,” the official added.
The water released towards Delhi is regulated at Hathni Kund barrage 228 kilometers upstream. The highest recorded Yamuna waters level in Delhi (207.49m) on September 6, 1978, was breached on July 13 when the water released from the barrage was above 2,00,000 cusecs.
The Delhi government said there will not be a problem and the water will easily pass through Delhi. “The departments are on alert monitoring the situation in real time. We expect Haryana to keep Delhi posted in case they release high volumes of water into the Yamuna. We also expect Haryana to distribute water into canal flowing towards Uttar Pradesh also,” a government spokesperson said.
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