The situation in the national capital will normalise soon if there is no more heavy rainfall, said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday, adding that the water level of the Yamuna is receding slowly. Kejriwal also said that water is being drained out of Wazirabad and Chandrawal treatment plants and the plants will start functioning again by tomorrow.
”The water level of Yamuna is receding slowly. The situation will normalise soon if there is no more heavy rain. Water is being drained out of Wazirabad and Chandrawal treatment plants. The machines will be dried afterwards. Both the plants will be started by tomorrow,” the Delhi CM wrote on Twitter in Hindi. ”Kindly follow precautions and help one another,” he further said.
As several parts of the city still remains inundated, Kejriwal advised people to avoid waterlogged areas. Sharing a video of children playing in floodwaters in Delhi’s Shanti Van, he wrote, ”I urge everyone to avoid this. It cud be fatal.”
The swollen Yamuna followed a downward trend today morning, albeit at a slow pace of a few centimetres per hour after wreaking havoc on lives and livelihoods in parts of the capital close to it.
The breach at the Indraprastha regulator that flooded the area near ITO and parts of the Ring Road was sealed and the Delhi Traffic Police allowed the movement of cars, auto-rickshaws and other light vehicles on both carriageways of the Ring Road from Shanti Van to Geeta colony.
However, the road from Shanti Van to Rajghat and towards ISBT is still closed, the department informed on Twitter.
DMRC removes speed restrictions on trains
As the water level of Yamuna receded, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) removed the speed restrictions on the movement of trains on the Yamuna bridges. Taking to Twitter, DMRC wrote, ”Speed restriction imposed while crossing Metro bridges over Yamuna has been removed. All trains are running at normal speed now.”
Delhi Metro trains were crossing the four Yamuna bridges with a restricted speed of 30 kmph as a precautionary measure due to Yamuna’s rising water level, the department said on Thursday.
The four bridges are at Yamuna Bank (698.8 m on Blue Line), Nizamuddin (602.8 m on Pink Line), Kalindi Kunj (574 m on Magenta Line), and Shastri Park (553 m on Red Line). Officials said the breach at the Indraprastha regulator was sealed by workers and Army personnel around midnight, with Delhi LG V K Saxena overseeing the work.
The work of pumping out water that flooded areas around ITO, Ring Road and Mathura Road and restoring the regulator has been taken up, they said. The Yamuna was still, however, flowing over two metres above the danger mark of 205.33 metres.
Light rain pounded several parts of Delhi on Friday as well. In the case of more rain in Delhi, experts believe that the rainwater may overflow and take longer than usual to drain out. Waterlogging could worsen the situation further.
The Yamuna water level declined to 207.62 metres by 7 am on Saturday from its peak of 208.66 metres at 8 pm on Thursday, as per the Central Water Commission’s flood-monitoring portal.
With the flow rate from the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana’s Yamunanagar decreasing over the past two days, further decline is expected.
The Kejriwal government had also urged the Centre to step in and stop the water discharge from Haryana's Hathnikund barrage. The Centre replied that excess water from the barrage had to be released.
Following a meeting of the Delhi Disaster Management Authority, Kejriwal ordered closure of all schools and colleges till tomorrow. Government employees, except those in emergency services, have been asked to work from home. Private offices have also been advised to move to the WFH option.
With PTI inputs
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