Delhi state chief Arvind Kejriwal on Monday held an important meeting to discuss waterlogging caused by record-breaking rains in the national capital and increasing water level in the Yamuna River.
The meeting was held at the Delhi Secretariat and was attended by senior officials of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department and Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
The meeting was called a day after the Kejriwal-led Delhi government issued a flood warning amid heavy rain.
After the meeting, Kejriwal said that the government is keeping a close watch on the flood situation, and around 41,000 people living in the Yamuna floodplains will be evacuated if the water level in the river touches the evacuation level of 206 metres.
The Delhi state chief also said that his government has rehabilitation plans ready in case the need to evacuate people from floodplains arises.
He further said that heavy rainfall in Delhi and the release of water into the Yamuna from the Hathni Kund barrage in Haryana is causing floods in the capital city.
“There was a flood in 1978 when 700,000 cusecs of water was released from Hathni Kund. ...800,000 cusecs of water was released in 2013. In 2019, 825,000 cusecs water was released into the Yamuna but no flooding was reported”, he stated.
He further claimed that 300,000 cusecs of water was released from the barrage on Sunday, while 250,000 cusecs was released on Monday morning.
Kejriwal also said that the government is in touch with the Central Water Commission in regards to the increasing level of water in the Yamuna River. “The weather prediction for the next few days suggests that the Yamuna level will not rise much and flood situation is not likely to arise. But if it does, we are ready”, he said.
Earlier, on Sunday, Kejriwal declared that all the schools in the city would be closed on Monday as there were reports of severe waterlogging, house collapsing, and a surge in incidents of trees falling due to the incessant rainfall.
He even cancelled the leave of all government officials following such incidents.
According to the India Meteorological Department (IMD), the national capital witnessed more than the usual rain over the weekend that it receives in the month on July. As per the IMD, the city usually gets 195.8 mm of rainfall in July.
Meanwhile, between Saturday and Sunday morning, it received 153 mm of rainfall, breaking a 41-year record for the most rain received in 24 hours. On Sunday alone, it saw 105.8 mm of rain.
The city has received 34 per cent of the total rain it usually sees during the entire year in the past two days — 258.8 mm as opposed to the annual average of 762.3 mm.
Kejriwal will also be discussing the increasing water level in the Yamuna River. The water level has been rising in the river due to incessant rains and because the neighbouring Haryana government has released more than one lakh cusecs of water into the river from the Hathni Kund barrage in Yamunanagar.
According to officials, the water level of the river crossed the warning level (204.63 meters) at 1 p.m. (IST) on Monday, while the danger level is at 205.33 meters. Officials at the Central Water Commission (CWC) said the water level in the river in Delhi continues to rise and is expected to surpass the danger mark on Tuesday.