NEW DELHI: The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Thursday morning and is expected to recede further, albeit slowly as heavy rainfall is likely at isolated places in the upper catchment areas in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The Central Water Commission’s (CWC) data showed the water level reached 205.25 metres at 10 am. There have been marginal fluctuations in the water level over the last two-three days.
The Yamuna had been receding gradually after reaching an all-time high of 208.66 metres last Thursday. The water level dropped below the danger mark of 205.33 metres by 8 pm on Tuesday, after flowing above the threshold for eight days. It receded to 205.22 metres at 5 am on Wednesday, before it started rising again and breached the danger mark.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has warned of heavy to very heavy rain at isolated places in Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh till July 22. In case of heavy rains upstream of Delhi, the increase in the water level could slow down the pace of rehabilitation of the affected families in the inundated low-lying areas of the capital and they may have to stay in relief camps for a longer period.
It could also impact the water supply, which became normal only on Tuesday after being affected for four to five days due to the inundation of a pump house at Wazirabad. The pump house supplies raw water to the Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla water treatment plants, which together account for around 25 per cent of the city’s supply.
The Okhla plant began operating on Friday, Chandrawal on Sunday and Wazirabad on Tuesday. On Tuesday, a DJB official said, “There is a shortage of only 10-12 million gallons of water per day (MGD) due to inundation of some tube wells in the river floodplain at Palla.”The DJB extracts around 30 MGD from the tube wells installed in the Palla floodplain. Parts of Delhi have been grappling with waterlogging and flooding issues for more than a week now.
