The water level in the Yamuna River in Delhi has again breached the danger mark following a surge in discharge from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river after heavy rain showered parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, reported PTI. Yamuna was overflowing at 206.56 metres at Old Yamuna Bridge at around 7:00 am, as per ANI. Meanwhile, due to the rise in the after level, the Old Yamuna Bridge has been closed. The raising water level poses a threat to the ongoing relief and rehabilitation efforts of the Delhi government, an official was quoted as saying by PTI.
Notably, Revenue Minister Atishi on Saturday said the Delhi government is on high alert due to the release of over 2 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river. She added that some parts of the city might submerge if Yamuna crosses 206.7 metres mark.
The river water has been flowing over the danger mark of 205.33 metres for the last few days after reaching an all-time high of 208.66 metres on July 13. According to the Central Water Commission's (CWC) data, the water level rose from 205.02 metres at 10 pm on Saturday to 205.96 metres at 9 am on Sunday.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand till July 25. CWC data shows that the flow rate at the Yamunanagar-located Hathnikund Barrage crossed the 1 lakh-mark at 9 am on Saturday, reported PTI.
This large volume of water poses a risk of mid-scale floods in the capital which is still trying to recover from the worst flood in decades.
Meanwhile, the National Disaster Response Force has finally called off its search and rescue operation in Wednesday's landslide in Irshalwadi in Maharashtra's Raigad district, state minister Uday Samant said on Sunday. Addressing a press conference, Samant, who is the guardian minister of Raigad, said the decision was taken in consultation with the district administration and other concerned authorities as well as local residents.