As water from Haryana dam adds to Delhi's woes, govt issues flood alert; advises relocation of locals

New Delhi: The Delhi government on Sunday sounded a flood alert for the city and asked people living in low-lying areas to move to safer places as the water level in the Yamuna river is expected to cross the danger mark, officials said.

The Yamuna was flowing at 203.37 metres on Sunday evening and its water level is expected to rise up to 207 metres on Monday as 8.28 lakh cusecs water, the highest till date, was released from Haryana’s Hathini Kund barrage at 6 pm, an official said.

All sub-divisional magistrates have been directed to evacuate people from low-lying areas with the help of Delhi Police and civil defence volunteers by 9 am on Monday.

Haryana released water in regular intervals on Sunday. At 5 pm, 8.14 lakh cusecs water was released from the Hathini Kund barrage, the official said. The Delhi government said preparations are being made to erect tents in nearby areas to accommodate the people living in the low-lying areas.

A meeting of officers was held on Sunday evening to discuss measures to deal with any flood-like situation. In July last year, traffic movement on Old Yamuna Bridge in Delhi was closed for a few days after the water level breached the danger mark. Yamuna’s water level had reached 205.5 metres last year. The danger mark is 205.33 metres.