Delhi on alert as Hathnikund Barrage water flow set to increase
With torrential rains in upper catchment areas of the Yamuna--Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, --and the water released into the Yamuna from the Hathnikund Barrage increased on Monday morning. The water level of Yamuna river at the Old Railway Bridge (ORB) stood at 203.48 metres at 3 pm and is rising further. According to the Central Water Commission's (CWC) five-day flood forecast suggests the water level may touch the warning level of 204.5 metres on Wednesday.
"We are monitoring the situation. The water level may increase but a grave situation is unlikely," PTI reported quoting an official of the Delhi government's Irrigation and Flood Control Department. On Monday morning, the water discharge from the barrage crossed 50,000 cusecs for the first time since July 26.
The flow rate at the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana's Yamunagar increased to 75,000 cusecs at 9 am, the highest since July 26. A flood alert is issued only when this goes beyond 100,000 cusecs, according to officials. In July, the worst of the flooding in Delhi was afterover 200,000 cusecs of water was released from the barrage for over several hours.
\At 9pm, the river was flowing at 203.37m at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge, well below the danger level of 205.33m. “Since the water flow has increased significantly from just 7,600 cusecs at 1am to over 75,688 cusecs at 9am, some impact will be seen in water levels over the next two to three days but situation is likely to remain under control if the rainfall in hills subsides," Hindustan Times reported citing an official in the irrigation and water department, asking not to be named. The water discharge will not pose problem for the city, a Delhi government spokesperson said.
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