The Yamuna water level touched 208.53 metres at 9 am, breaking a 45-year-old record today, Central Water Commission said. As per MCD, 10 schools in low-lying areas of Delhi’s Civil Lines zone, 7 in Shahadra will be closed today due to flood-like situation.
Waters from the raging Yamuna river has thrown normal life out of gear in Delhi. The Yamuna water level remained stable for few hours on Thursday, however, it started rising again.
The unprecedented rise in Yamuna water level has now brought the urban and rural areas of Noida to a standstill. As the river at the Okhla Barrage crossed the danger level of 200.60 m, thousands of people had to take shelter on the road — their homes, farms and belongings submerged in the water.
With Yamuna levels rising to a record high, several key areas in Delhi including the Secretariat housing the chief minister’s office were flooded, impairing normal life and traffic movement, as authorities scrambled to lead rescue and relief efforts.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the closure of schools near the river and the shutting down of water treatment plants, as people waded through knee-deep waters in low-lying areas to reach safer places.
Till late Thursday evening, around 40 people were trapped in the water and rescue operations were underway. But it is not just the shanties that were affected. Water entered the gated colonies in Sector-137, sector-141 and sector-142. The road near the Paras Tierea Society and Advant building on the Greater Noida Expressway was waterlogged.
The Delhi police has also imposed section 144 CrPC as a precautionary measure in the flood-prone areas in Delhi. According to the Delhi government as part of its evacuation plan, a total of 16,564 people living in low-lying areas have been evacuated to safer places and 14,534 are living in tents/shelters, across the city. Yesterday, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote a letter to Central Water Commission, a government body to take urgent measures to mitigate the imminent crisis.