Getting things ready to tackle monsoons, that usually arrive in Delhi towards June end, Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj on Tuesday said that the department has taken crucial steps and the city this time will not get flooded as the water will flow through Yamuna in a much better way this time.
The Minister on Tuesday inspected the ITO barrage and the river bed area and took stock of the situation, and reviewed the de-silting works that were done to prevent the river from flooding like it happened last year.
During the inspection of the barrage, he received comprehensive updates on the measures being taken to manage potential flood scenarios.
According to officials, last year, this very barrage caused significant flooding in the Yamuna, leading to water logging and severe inconvenience for nearby residents.
The Delhi Minister taking to platform X on Tuesday wrote that last year, so much water came into Yamuna that the river was flooded. This year, the Haryana government’s ITO barrage has been opened completely, while its gates that were stuck and could not be opened have been cut and removed.
The pilot cuts have been made so that all the silt can flow away when more water is released in the Yamuna river.
The department has used this unique ‘Pilot Cut’ technique for first time, said Bhardwaj, explaining that under this experiment, small channels are dug from the accumulated soil in front of the barrage extending far beyond.
During this process, small islands of soil are formed between the artificial channels created in the Yamuna.
“When rainwater is released from Haryana, it will flow swiftly through these artificial channels, carrying with it the small soil islands, thereby eliminating any possibility of water stagnation and allowing the water to flow swiftly ahead,” he said.
“This procedure ensures that there will be no likelihood of water accumulating in the Yamuna, terminating all potential flood scenarios due to unhindered water flow,” he added.
He further said that in the present year, on the instructions of Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal the work has been going on for several months to prevent flooding in Delhi’s Yamuna.
“Given upcoming monsoon season, work has been going on at war footing in Yamuna for last 3 months,” he added.
While touring and thoroughly checking preparations and the barrage, Bhardwaj explained that the amount of rainfall last year and the volume of water released into the Yamuna from Haryana were unprecedented in decades, which resulted in the flood situation in the river.
The minister said that although the ITO barrage falls under the jurisdiction of the Haryana government and its operation is their responsibility, this time, the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department has coordinated with the neighboring state government to prepare for the potential issues.
Talking of the last year’s incidents of regulators breaking at some places, he said that this time, to prevent such situations, all regulators have been repaired thoroughly.
The broken regulator has been replaced with a new one, and all other regulators have been adequately checked and serviced to prevent any issues or accidents in case of water inflow into the Yamuna.
All the regulators have been tested once, Bhardwaj said, adding that there will be no repeat of last year’s incidents.
Throwing light on the water accumulation in urban areas, he said the issue has various causes, and they fall under the responsibility of different departments such as the DDA, PWD, and MCD.
He further said that the department of Irrigation and Flood Control is responsible for handling flood situations in the Yamuna, and has prepared this year in such a way that the department is hopeful that there will be no flood situation in the river this year.