Water from overflowing Yamuna enters Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat

Water from the Yamuna entered Mahatma Gandhi's memorial at Rajghat in Delhi, inundating its lawns and pathways, Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti Vice-Chairman Vijay Goel said on Friday.

Goel said the flood water rose up to the memorial complex's entrance and later inundated the pathways leading to the marble platform where Gandhi was cremated.

"However, the water just touched the lower portion of the marble platform and the flame atop it was unaffected," he told PTI.

Visuals of Rajghat showed water surging on the Ring Road and entering the memorial.

Goel said a part of the wall of the Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti collapsed under the pressure of the water.

Earlier, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told reporters that the flooding at Rajghat was due to the backflow from a drain in the area.

A PTI Video showed the memorial's pathways and lawns inundated by waist-deep water.

Rajghat, built in Gandhi's memory on the western bank of the Yamuna in Delhi, measures 44.35 acres. The memorial is a square stone platform in black marble.

The memorial was built on the site where Gandhi was cremated after his assassination on January 30, 1948, at Delhi's Birla House.