Delhi Rains: Yamuna nears warning level as govt moves to control ITO barrage from Haryana
To strengthen flood management in the city, the Delhi government will formally request Haryana to transfer control of the ITO barrage on the Yamuna. Officials noted that during the 2023 floods, malfunctioning gates at the barrage significantly contributed to the disaster, ANI reported.
Additionally, on Tuesday, the water release from Haryana's Hathnikund Barrage surpassed 50,000 cusecs for the first time this monsoon season, reaching a peak of 54,707 cusecs around 1 am, as reported by the Central Water Commission (CWC).
Even lower discharges from upstream are raising the water level, nearing the warning mark in Delhi.
On Thursday, the city recorded a minimum temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, which is 2.3 degrees below the seasonal average, according to the weather office. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) forecasted generally cloudy skies with moderate rainfall throughout the day.
The maximum temperature is expected to reach 30.8 degrees Celsius. Meanwhile, the city's air quality was rated satisfactory, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 76 at 9 am, as reported by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
An AQI between 51 and 100 falls under the 'satisfactory' category.
A committee under the Ministry of Jal Shakti had earlier recommended revising the danger levels at the Delhi Railway Bridge, which were already revised a few years ago.
Water released from the barrage typically takes 48 to 50 hours to reach Delhi, with the Old Railway Bridge serving as the primary monitoring point. A water expert criticised the revision recommendation as shifting the goalpost.
'These points relate to siltation and floodplain encroachment, raising the riverbed in Delhi. Instead of repeatedly increasing warning and danger levels, which were already revised in 2019, the government should first conduct a geomorphological study of the river's upper segment,' said Bhim Singh Rawat, an activist and member of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People (SANDRP).
Last year, despite heavy rains, Delhi narrowly avoided reaching the warning level, with the Yamuna peaking at 204.38 metres in late September.
By contrast, the devastating floods of July 2023 saw record water levels of 208.66 metres and a peak discharge of 3.59 lakh cusecs from Hathnikund. This led to severe flooding in areas such as Mayur Vihar, ITO, Salimgarh bypass, and Civil Lines, displacing thousands of residents.
As per the Delhi government's flood control plan, the first official warning is issued only when Hathnikund's discharge exceeds 1 lakh cusecs—a threshold that remains well above current levels.
Irrigation and Flood Control department in this year's order said, 'Once that threshold is crossed, sector-level control rooms will activate, boats will be deployed, and vulnerable areas will be placed under surveillance.'
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