NEW DELHI – A fresh report from the Central Water Commission (CWC) says that the water level in the Yamuna River has gone down a little bit. However, things are still very bad in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR). The water level at the Old Railway Bridge (Loha Pul) was 207.33 meters on Friday morning, down from 207.4 meters on Thursday night. The Yamuna’s hazard level is 205.33 meters.
An official from the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department said that the water level seems to be stabilizing, but it will likely stay above the danger mark for a while, which will keep the city flooded. Pictures from Friday morning showed the Yamuna in spate and flooding important places, which corroborated this.
The Civil Lines region, which includes Monastery Market, was very wet, with streets covered in water and animals seen walking through the floodwaters. Machines have been put in place at Vasudev Ghat to pump out the water, however vehicles like auto-rickshaws and tractors were still observed moving slowly through the flooded streets.
People who live in low-lying areas, especially near the river, have been transferred to safer places and shelter camps. But the situation is still dangerous because some of these camps near Mayur Vihar-1 were also inundated on Thursday.
The floods has also affected nearby areas in the NCR. With the help of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), officials in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, evacuated at least 55 households from the flood-affected Badarpur hamlet. Saurabh Bhatt, the Additional District Magistrate (Finance), told media that food and other necessities, such milk for babies, have been arranged for the families that had to leave. He also said that the administration’s major goal is to keep the Yamuna embankment safe so that more villages don’t get flooded.
Delhi woke up to sunny skies on Friday after days of steady rain, even if the crisis was still going on. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) says that the capital will get “generally cloudy skies with moderate rain.”