Water entered homes and shops in the low lying areas of the national capital on Wednesday as the Yamuna river breached the 207-metre mark at 1 pm following incessant rainfall. This is the fifth time Yamuna has breached the 207-metre mark in almost six decades since 1963, according to the data available with Irrigation and Flood Control Department.
The river earlier breached the 207-metre mark in 2023 (208.66m), 2013 (207.32m), 2010 (207.11m), and 1978 (207.49m).
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Additionally, according to the Central Water Commission forecast, the river continues to swell will cross another crucial mark of 207.40-metre mark by 8 pm on Wednesday, putting the national capital on alert.
Yamuna is already flowing much above the dangerous mark of 205.33 metres. The warning level for Delhi is 204.5 metres.
People residing in low-lying areas of Delhi, particularly around Yamuna, were shifted to safer locations amid rising water levels. The Old Railway Bridge was also closed for traffic on Wednesday.
According to the IMD, light to moderate rainfall accompanied by light thunderstorm, lightning, and gusty winds speeding upto 30-40 kmph is very likely to occur in Delhi, the entire national capital region (NCR), and also parts of Haryana and Punjab.
‘No food, no toilets’
People who have been displaced from Delhi’s Madanpur Khadar due to heavy rainfall in and are astaying under old plastic sheets are facing issues such as lack of proper toilets and even food and utensils. “All our belongings are inside. We could barely take out a few things. Women are facing a lot of problems as there are no toilets,” PTI quoted Tayara, a resident, as saying.
“Families had no food or utensils and were surviving only on biscuits and buns. We could not bring our cooking essentials, and now we have no facilities to cook – we are surviving on whatever we can buy from the kiosk,” said another person.