Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday made an appeal to Centre for help in dealing with the situation arising from rising water level in Yamuna which is posing flood threat in the national capital.
Kejriwal wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah to ensure that water from Hathni Kund barrage is released in limited and controlled volumes so that the level of Yamuna in Delhi does not rise further.
The Yamuna has already reached 207.55 metres, which is way above the danger mark of 205.33 metres at the Old Railway Bridge. As per experts, by tonight the river will reach 207.72 metres, highest in the history recorded so far.
Till now, the highest level of the Yamuna has been 207.49 metres, which was recorded in 1978.
Kejriwal has asserted that Delhi has not seen heavy rains for the last three days, and Yamuna levels are rising due to large amounts of water being released from HathniKund Barrage in Yamuna Nagar, Haryana. Against this backdrop, he made an appeal to the Centre to control levels of water being released from Hathni Kund so that Delhi doesn’t face flood threat.
The CM said Delhi is soon going to host the G20 Summit and a flooded host city won’t send out a positive message to the world that the.
In his letter to the Union home minister, he informed that the level of Yamuna in the national capital has reached 207.55 metres at 1 pm on Wednesday. “It is well above the danger mark (205.33 m). Prior to this, the maximum level of Yamuna had been reached in the year 1978, which was 207.49 metres. At that time there was a flood in Delhi and the situation became very serious. At the level of 207.55 metres now Yamuna can flood anytime,” the letter reads.
The CM has further stated that according to the latest estimates of the Central Water Commission, the level of Yamuna will reach 207.72 metres tonight, which is a matter of great concern.
Further in the letter, Kejriwal has pointed out that it did not rain in Delhi for the last three days and the water level in the Yamuna in Delhi is not increasing due to the rains in Delhi but due to the water being released from the Hathni Kund barrage located in Haryana. “I humbly request you that if possible the water from Hathni Kund barrage should be released in limited and controlled volumes so that the level of Yamuna in Delhi does not increase further,” the letter reads.
He has also stated that Delhi is the capital of the country and the G20 summit is going to be held here in a few weeks. “The news of flooding in the national capital will not send a good message to the world. Together we all have to save the people of Delhi from this situation,” the letter reads.
The CM also took to Twitter to talk about the situation, he wrote, “Central Water Commission predicts 207.72 metres water level in Yamuna tonight. Not good news for Delhi. There have been no rains in Delhi in the last 2 days, however, levels of Yamuna are rising due to abnormally high volumes of water being released by Haryana at Hathnikund barrage. Urge Centre to intervene and ensure that levels in Yamuna don’t rise further, highest Flood Level 207.49m (in 1978). Current Level is 207.55m”.