As monsoon showers continue to drench Delhi, the water level in the Yamuna rose sharply on Sunday morning and it was recorded at 205.30 meters just a tad bit under the danger mark of 205.33 meters.
This development comes in the backdrop of the Delhi administration sounding a flood alert on Friday, even as over 100 families living in the Yamuna floodplains were shifted to other areas over the last few days.
While the waters level in the Yamuna was recorded at 205.30 metres at the Old Railway Bridge at 9 am today, it had breached the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Friday amid heavy downpour. Earlier, the river had swelled to 205.59 metres on Friday night and it receded to 204.89 metres on Saturday evening, according to officials.
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With Haryana discharging more water into the river from the Hathnikund Barrage, the Delhi Police and the East Delhi district administration have been evacuating people living on the floodplains of the Yamuna in the capital.
"The flood alert remains in place. We have deployed boats in different areas and families living in vulnerable areas are being temporarily moved into tents and shelter homes of the city government," an official of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority said.
A flood alert is declared when the Yamuna crosses the "warning mark" of 204.50 metres.
The Delhi flood control room reported a discharge rate of 17,827 cusecs from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana's Yamunanagar district at 9 am.
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Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusec, but the discharge is increased after heavy rainfall in catchment areas.
It had peaked to 1.60 lakh cusecs on Tuesday, the highest this year so far.
The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two-three days to reach the capital.
One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second.
A Met Department official said "moderate to heavy" rains are predicted in northwest India over the next few days, which is likely to increase water levels in the rivers flowing through the region.
In 2019, the flow rate had peaked to 8.28 lakh cusec on August 18-19, and the water level of the Yamuna had hit the 206.60 metre-mark, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres.
In 1978, the river had swelled to the all-time record water level of 207.49 metres. In 2013, it had risen to 207.32 metres.
(With PTI inputs)
