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Delhi Flood: Yamuna Water Level Drops Below Danger Mark, 2 Of 5 Jammed Gates Of ITO Barrage Opened — Latest Updates

The Wazirabad water treatment plant also began operations on Tuesday. Earlier, the plants at Wazirabad, Okhla, and Chadrawal were shut because of rise in Yamuna water level, which led to a 25% drop in water supply.

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Flooding in Delhi
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The Yamuna water level dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Tuesday evening. 

As of 8 pm, the Yamuna water level in Delhi stood at 205.3 metres, according to the Central Water Commission (CWC).

In another development, one more jammed gate of the ITO Barrage in Delhi was opened on Tuesday, taking the number of opened gates to two. 

Three gates continue to remain jammed. The jammed gates are obstructing the flow of water out of Delhi and the opening of gates is therefore expected to ease the flooding situation in the national capital. 

Moreover, the Wazirabad water treatment plant also began operating, said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday. 

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Here are the latest developments related to Delhi floods and waterlogging situation. 

Yamuna water level drops below danger mark

After flowing above the danger mark for days, the Yamuna water level dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Tuesday. 

As of 8 pm, the Yamuna water level stood at 205.3 metres, according to CWC data.

The Yamuna water level in Delhi is further expected to drop to 205.15 metres by 7 am on Wednesday, as per CWC projection reported by PTI.

"The river has been receding gradually after peaking at 208.66 metres on Thursday. However, a minor fluctuation in the water level cannot be ruled out due to rain in the upper reaches," reported PTI.

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Earlier this month, Delhi witnessed more than a month's worth rainfall in just two days, which led to Yamuna overflowing and the city being waterlogged. Embankments and regulators were also broken that added to the flooding woes.

"Initially, a downpour caused intense waterlogging on July 8 and 9, with the city receiving 125 per cent of its monthly rainfall quota in just two days. Subsequently, heavy rains in the upper catchment areas, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Haryana, led to the Yamuna swelling to record levels," reported PTI.

2 of 5 ITO barrage gates opened

After days of work, two of the five jammed ITO Barrage gates have been opened. 

The second gate was opened on Tuesday morning, said Delhi water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Twitter. 

Sharing photos of the barrage, he tweeted, "The gate number 30 of ITO barrage was opened at 5:19 today."

The Indian Army, Navy, and other workers have been engaged at the ITO Barrage since July 13. Even as they work to open the jammed gates, the Delhi and Haryana governments have sparred over the issue. The barrage is owned by the Haryana government and the AAP has blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-run Haryana for not maintaining the barrage, reported PTI, adding that Haryana has in turn accused AAP for not paying dues to the engineers. 

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Wazirabad water treatment plant restarted 

CM Kejriwal tweeted on Tuesday that the Wazirabad water treatment plant has restarted operations. 

Earlier, Wazirabad along with water treatment plants at Chandrawal and Okhla were shut after water level rose in Yamuna. This had led to drinking water issues in the capital. Now as all three plants are functioning again, the drinking water availability is expected to get back to normal. 

The PTI reported that the stoppage of the three plants had led to 25 per cent drop in water supply.

"Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant has also started working on full capacity. Now all WTPs are working on full capacity. DJB worked very hard. Thank you, DJB!" said Kejriwal in a tweet. 

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The Okha plant was restarted on Friday and the Chandrawal plant was restarted on Sunday.

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