Delhi government declares emergency in low-lying areas of the Yamuna floodplains.
New Delhi: The Yamuna reached its highest level in the last five years a day after breaching the danger mark. This forced the Delhi Government to declare an emergency in the low-lying areas along the river in Delhi and shifted 3000 families to safer areas.
Traffic was suspended on the Old Yamuna Bridge as the water level in the river continued to rise. An order banning movement of traffic on the bridge was issued after the flow in the Yamuna showed a rising trend, an official said.
The water level touched 205.5 metres around 5pm on Sunday. The last time it breached the 205 metres was in 2013 when the water level touched 207.3 metres. In 2013 Haryana, had released around 8 lakh cusecs of water on a single day. This time the maximum water Haryana has released so far is around 6 lakh cusecs.
The water level is likely to rise to 206.6 metres in the next 48 hours, as it takes at least two days for the water to reach Delhi after being released from Haryana’s Hathnikund Barrage, around 200km north of Delhi.
In 1978, when Delhi suffered its most severe floods, the water level had touched a record 207.49 metres.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar held an emergency meeting on Sunday to review the situation in Yamunanagar district, where an alert was declared after water flow crossed 5 lakh cusecs. The Yamuna passes through Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat districts in Haryana before entering Delhi.
Haryana officials have cautioned Delhi about the rise in water level.