Yamuna recedes but still flowing above danger mark

NEW DELHI - The water of the Yamuna river here receded Thursday morning but the river is still flowing over two metres above the danger mark, a flood department official said.

According to the official of the irrigation and flood control department, the water level in the Yamuna, which touched 207.08 metres Wednesday night, receded to 206.91 metres which is still 2.08 metres above the danger level of 204.83 metres.

“Since morning there was no huge inflow of water from Haryana. At 6 a.m., 303,169 cusecs water was released from the Hathinikund barrage and this will reach Delhi by Saturday,” the official told IANS.

The flood department official said the situation was “under control” and there is no need to worry about flood as the water level in the Yamuna is receding.

“There has not been any major discharge of water from the Hathinikund barrage since morning. The situation will remain under control. Moreover, the people living in low-lying areas have been evacuated,” he said.

As the Yamuna crossed the 207-mark Wednesday, many drains and sewage lines near residential colonies like GTB Nagar, Mukherjee Nagar, areas near Delhi University’s North Campus and Kashmere Gate Inter-State Bus Terminus are still waterlogged with nearly two-foot water.

A more than a century-old key bridge over the Yamuna, linking the capital with its eastern district and western Uttar Pradesh which was closed to traffic Tuesday, still remains closed as the water level is still over two metres above the danger mark.

Several low-lying areas of Delhi like New Usmanpur, Sarita Vihar, Kalindi Kunj, Jamia Nagar and Wazirabad were flooded Tuesday and people were shifted to temporary shelter camps.

Breaking a 32-year-record, Haryana released a maximum discharge of 744,507 cusecs water from the Hathinikund barrage Monday, creating panic of flood in Delhi.

Earlier this month, a discharge of over six lakh cusecs of water from Haryana had caused a flood threat. However, the water was dispersed as parts of the Yamuna embankment were damaged in Panipat in Haryana, letting some of the water out.