New Delhi: Triggering panic in the national capital, the water level of the Yamuna in Delhi breached the danger mark again on Sunday following a surge in discharge from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river after heavy rain in parts of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
Further increase in the water level of the river is expected to impact relief and rehabilitation work in the flood-affected low-lying areas of the capital, officials said.
Torrential rain continued to wreak havoc across Maharashtra, Delhi, Gujarat, Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab leaving a huge number of people stranded in the floods and landslide.
Revenue Minister Atishi on Saturday said the Delhi government is on high alert due to discharge of over 2 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river and that some parts of Yamuna Khadar (floodplains) might get inundated if the water level rises to 206.7 metres.
The river water level had been hovering around the danger mark of 205.33 metres for the last few days after reaching an all-time high of 208.66 metres on July 13.
Water level in Yamuna touches 205.96 mm
The Central Water Commission's (CWC) data showed the water level rose from 205.02 metres at 10 pm on Saturday to 205.96 metres at 9 am on Sunday. It is expected to reach 206.7 metres by 4 pm.
The India Meteorological Department has predicted heavy to very heavy rain in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand till July 25.
According to the CWC data, the flow rate at the Yamunanagar-located Hathnikund Barrage crossed the 1 lakh-mark at 9 am on Saturday and oscillated between 2 lakh and 2.5 lakh cusecs between 10 am and 5 pm. Since then, it has remained between 1.5 lakh cusecs and 2 lakh cusecs.
This significant volume of water poses a risk of mid-scale floods in the capital, which is still recuperating from one of the worst flood spells it experienced in the second week of July.
“The second spell of floods will likely see the Yamuna river reclaiming most of its floodplain in Delhi. Given the valuable insights gained from the last flood spell this month, city planners and policy makers must take note of the lessons learned. Citizens are counting on the swift response of authorities, expecting all the gates of the ITO barrage to be opened and fully functional. Additionally, immediate attention should be given to fix any breached sites and bunds," said Bhim Singh Rawat, associate coordinator of the South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers and People.
Parts of Delhi have been grappling with waterlogging and flooding for more than two weeks now.
At 208.66 metres on July 13, the Yamuna surpassed its previous record of 207.49 metres set in September 1978 by a significant margin. It breached embankments and penetrated deeper into the city than it has in over four decades.
Tansa dam in Maharashtra's Thane nearing overflow; nearly 27 killed in Raigad landslide
Villages in Shahapur, Bhiwandi, and Vasai talukas in Thane and Palghar districts of Maharashtra are put on alert in view of the possible discharge of water from the Tansa dam, officials said on Saturday night.
The dam in Thane district is likely to overflow anytime due to continuous rainfall in the region and hence villages situated around the dam and banks of the (Tansa) river are put on alert, a release said.
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and other agencies resumed the search and rescue operation for the fourth day on Sunday at Irshalwadi village in Maharashtra's Raigad district where a massive landslide led to the death of at least 27 people, officials said.
According to an NDRF official, no body was recovered so far after the search and rescue operation resumed in the morning.
The death toll in the landslide mounted to 27 on Saturday while 81 persons are yet to be traced, officials earlier said.
The landslide at the tribal village, situated on a hill slope under Khalapur tehsil that is located around 80 km from Mumbai, occurred on Wednesday night.
At least 17 of 48 houses in the village were fully or partially buried under the landslide debris, officials said.
The rescue operation is being carried out manually as earth movers and excavators could not be easily moved to the village in the absence of a pucca road.
Flash flood in Jammu's Chenab river
Hundreds of acres of land was inundated and a house washed away on Saturday as heavy rain led to a flash flood in the Chenab river in Jammu district's Akhnoor area near the Pakistan border.
A rescue operation was launched by the district administration to bring the people, mostly tribals, to safer areas.
"Chenab is overflowing. The bunds around the banks are damaged. It has breached in a few places and is flowing close to villages, so we have come to evacuate people. Situation is under control," Additional deputy Commissioner (ADC), Jammu, Harvinder Singh told PTI.
He said 105 persons have been evacuated from the area in view of the threat of rising water levels.
Though the National and the State Disaster Response Force and local officials were pressed into rescue operations and police claimed that the situation is under control, people observed that
Chenab was getting dangerously close to their villages.
Cars, cattle swept away in Gujarat's Junagadh
In Junagadh city, dozens of parked cars and cattle were swept away in gushing waters after it received 241 mm of rainfall in just 12 hours till 8 pm on Saturday. People were seen wading through waist-deep water to shift to safer places. Some of them were rescued by volunteers as they were carried away in strong currents.
Over 200 mm of rainfall in a few hours on Saturday morning overwhelmed the drainage system in Navsari city, with water spilling onto roads and low-lying areas. It caused massive traffic congestion in the city, and the situation was brought under control through a coordinated effort, additional collector Ketan Joshi said.
Water gushed into a godown storing empty gas cylinders after a wall collapsed there, washing away the LPG containers, Joshi said, adding that the district supply department was looking into the matter.
Heavy showers also flooded the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway near Navsari city, officials said.
Ahmedabad city was also battered by 101 mm of rainfall in just two hours on Saturday evening, causing flooding on city roads and residential areas. City underpasses were blocked for traffic as a precautionary measure.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning of heavy to very heavy rainfall with isolated extremely heavy rainfall in south Gujarat and Saurashtra-Kutch districts till Sunday morning.
Bhakra dam under watch
Authorities are keeping a watch on the rising water level in the Bhakra dam as rain lashed many places in Punjab and Haryana on Saturday, leaving several low-lying areas inundated in both the states.
Pilgrimage to Gurdwara Darbar Sahib in Pakistan, connected through the Kartarpur corridor, was further suspended till July 24 because of the rain.
The water level in Bhakra dam, the maximum storage capacity of which is 1,680 feet, reached 1,652 feet.
Himachal and Uttarakhand are also among the states which witnessed damage in heavy rainfall.
A cloudburst triggered flash floods in the Union Territory of Ladakh, causing debris to flow into the main market area and throwing life out of gear, but there are no reports of any loss of life
(With PTI inputs)
