New Delhi: Owing to bad weather and continuous rise in the water level of the Yamuna river in the national capital, the old Yamuna bridge, colloquially known as 'Lohe Ka Pul', has temporarily been closed for rail traffic, Indian Railways said on Monday. Due to the closure of Yamuna bridge, 27 passenger trains have been cancelled, while 7 trains have been diverted.  As per the report, the water level has reached at 205.53 mark with the danger mark being 204.83 metres, due to which Delhi has been on high alert following a flood-like situation due to constant rainfall for the last couple of days.

Old Yamuna Bridge, is a road-cum-rail bridge on the Delhi-Howrah line that was built over 150 years ago. It serves as a major connectivity link between Delhi and the neighbouring states.



On Sunday evening, the traffic movement on Old Yamuna Bridge was closed with the water level in the river rising due to rains, a day after the flow breached the danger mark, officials said. The city government set up a flood control room and a round-the-clock emergency operation centre to monitor the river situation, they said. An order banning movement of traffic on the bridge was issued by the disaster management authorities after the flow in the Yamuna showed a rising trend.

Earlier, Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia took stock of the ongoing evacuation operation in the low-lying areas of the city, including Akshardham and Pandav Nagar, and appealed to the people to move to safer areas. Many people have moved to safer places, an official said. The water level in the river had reached 205.30 metres at 7 pm on Saturday, prompting authorities to evacuate people from the low-lying areas. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had held an emergency meeting with top officials to evaluate the situation.

(With inputs from agencies)