Yamuna continues to flow near warning level in Delhi; likely to increase

The Yamuna was flowing close to the warning mark in Delhi on Wednesday morning and is likely to swell further with more water being released into it from the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana, officials said.

The water level was recorded at 203.78 metres at the Old Railway Bridge at8 am. Water was being released into the Yamuna at the rate of 13,433 cusec at 8 am from the Hathnikund barrage,an official of the irrigation andfloodcontrol department said.

One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litre per second.

The water level was recorded at 203.98 metres at 6 pm on Tuesday,precariously close to the warning level of 204.50 metres, according to the official.

The river had swelled to 204.38 metres on Monday, which was just a metre below the danger mark of 205.33 metres.

The flow rate was 36,557 cusec at 5 pm on Tuesday, the maximum in the last 24 hours The water level is likely to increase in the next 48 hours, he said.

The water discharged from the barrage which provides drinking water to Delhi usually takes 72 hours to reach the capital.

Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusec, but the discharge is increased after heavy rainfall in catchment areas.

Last year, the flow rate had peaked to 8.28 lakh cusec on August 18-19, and the water level of the Yamuna had hit the 206.60 meter-mark, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 meters.

The Delhi government had to launch evacuation and relief operations after the overflowing river submerged many low-lying areas.

Delhi's Water Minister Satyendar Jain had Monday said the government was ready to deal with any flood-like situation.

The India Meteorological Department has alsowarned of "heavy to very heavy" rainfall in northwest India, which is likely to increase water levels of the river.

Heavy to very rainfall is likely in northwest India over the next three to four days due to the northward shifting of the monsoon through, Kudeep Srivastava, the head of the regional forecasting centre of the India Meteorological Department, said.