Yamuna water receding but still above danger mark

NEW DELHI - Lack of rainfall Thursday brought down the water level of the Yamuna river though it is still flowing above the danger mark.

“The water level has come down by 15 cm,” an Irrigation and Flood Control Department official said.

The river Friday crossed the danger level of 204.8 metres and has remained above it since then due to heavy rainfall in the past one week.

“The water level is 205.77 metres. It is still above the danger mark, but is slowly receding,” the official said.

The iron railway and road bridge over the Yamuna was also closed Wednesday due to the rising water level of the river.

“Technically, it’s difficult to control the situation because there are no dams in the upper catchment area of Yamuna,” a Central Water Commission (CWC) official told IANS.

“Safety measures such as developing small means of water storage, ground water recharge and forestation are usually followed. But when the water is above the danger level, these measures are also of no help,” he added.

“Hathnikund, Mawi and old railway bridge are three major points where we observed the high rise in the water level,” he said.

Nearly 1,500 people living in low-lying areas of the capital were Sunday evacuated and shifted to relief camps set up by the government in Usmanpur, Garhimandu, Badarpur Khadar, ISBT bridge, Shakarpur, Akshardham temple, old Yamuna bridge, Geeta Colony and Okhla.

According to the CWC official, over 68 divers with 50 boats, and a disaster management force unit have also been deployed to meet any possible situation. The areas under flood threat are Usmanpur, Badarpur Khadar and ISBT bridge.

The water level in the Yamuna river has also risen due to over four lakh cusecs released by Haryana into the river Aug 23-24.