Yamuna water level receding but still above danger mark

PTI

New Delhi, September 29

The water level in the Yamuna in Delhi has receded slightly but it is still above the danger mark of 205.33 metres and the affected people will have to wait for a few more days before they can return to their houses in low-lying areas along the river, officials said on Thursday. 

According to the Central Water Commission’s data, the water level in the Yamuna dipped from 206.59 metres at 7am on Wednesday, the highest since August 2019, to 205.37 metres at 9am on Thursday. It is likely to drop below the danger mark of 205.33 metres during the day.

The city administration had issued a flood alert, suspended rail traffic movement on the Old Yamuna Bridge and evacuated around 6,500 people from low-lying areas close to the Yamuna on Tuesday as the river breached the evacuation mark of 206 metres following a late spell of heavy rain in the upper catchment areas, especially Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, last week. 

Since there has been no significant rain in the upper catchment areas over the last three days, the water flow rate from Haryana's Hathnikund Barrage has also come down from 96,000 cusecs at 7am on Tuesday to 25,400 cusecs at 9am on Wednesday and further to 17,800 cusecs at 9am on Thursday.

One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second.

Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge increases after heavy rain in the catchment areas.

The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two to three days to reach the national capital.