Yamuna water level reaches danger threshold; CM Kejriwal appeals for caution

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, cautioned residents on Sunday to stay away from the riverbanks as the Yamuna's water level reached the danger threshold of 205.33 metres.

Kejriwal urged people to assist the government and said that provisions had been prepared for those who resided close to the Yamuna river.

"The water level of Yamuna has increased in Delhi. I appeal to everyone to please avoid going near the river. We have made adequate arrangements for the people living near the Yamuna. Cooperate with the government and administration. We are monitoring the situation and are ready to deal with any situation," Kejriwal tweeted.

His tweet came after Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot tweeted: "In view of the rising water level of Yamuna, all the agencies have been put on high alert. There is an appeal to the people to stay away from the river. We are monitoring the situation under the leadership of CM Arvind Kejriwal. Camps have been set up for the displaced, where necessary arrangements have been made for their accommodation and food."

The Yamuna's water level has reached the 205.33-meter danger threshold. But on Saturday, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge (ORB) was 205.92 metres.

Delhi government has put all the concerned Districts Magistrates, Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department, Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Delhi Police and other stakeholders on high alert.

The government has asked the concerned authorities to effectively deal with the flood situation in coordination with each other. It has also deployed civil defence volunteers (CDVs) to evacuate and shift the affected people to safer places. The CDVs are working hard to alert people living in low-lying areas about the situation.

The Central Water Commission (CWC) on Thursday issued an advisory stating that the water level in the Yamuna at Old Railway Bridge (ORB) would reach the level of 205.65 metres because of the heavy release of water which amounted to as high as 2,21,781 cusec per hour from Hathnikund Barrage.

As per the state government's estimation, the flood-like situation may affect 36,746 people in the capital city. Approximately 4,500 people are supposed to be affected in the North district, the number of such people is between 6,600-8,200 in the NorthEast district.

Similarly, in the Central and Shahdara districts, the number of such people may be approximately 6,670 and 608 respectively and in the East and Southeast district 12,739 and 4,080, respectively.

Seeing the rising flood situation, the Delhi government has evacuated a total of 7,720 people, that includes 2,095 from the NorthEast, 5,000 from the East and 625 from the SouthEast districts.

With inputs from IANS