Yamuna recedes in Delhi, but still above danger mark

NEW DELHI - The water level in the Yamuna started receding Sunday, a day after nearly 2,000 people were evacuated in Delhi as the river was flowing perilously above the danger mark, a flood department official said.

The water level in the Yamuna stood at 206.49 metres Sunday morning, 1.66 metres above the danger mark, but there has been a decline in the discharge from Haryana’s Hathnikund barrage, said the official of the Department of Irrigation and Flood Control.

“The water level has started receding slowly, but it is still above the danger mark. The discharge from Haryana is getting low - about 41,748 cuseus of water was discharged till 8 a.m. Sunday,” the official told IANS.

“We are expecting the water level to recede to 206.35 metres at 4 p.m. today (Sunday), by late evening the water level should go down to 204.83 metres, but we cannot confirm it now.”

The rising Yamuna flooded several parts of the capital Saturday, with over 2,000 people evacuated from east and north Delhi.

Speaking about the iron bridge over the river which was shut down as the water level in the Yamuna river continued to rise dangerously Saturday, the official said, “The bridge is still closed - it will not be opened till the Yamuna water level reaches below 206 metre.”

Low-lying areas like Garhi Mandu, Usmanpur Pushta, Jagatpur village and Shastri Nagar were some of the places inundated, officials said.

Around 100 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) personnel have been deployed to assist the authorities to tackle the situation, which is similar to the situation in 1978.

In 1978, more than 250,000 people were affected when the Yamuna flooded large areas in the capital’s northern and eastern districts through which the river flows.