Floodwaters reach Supreme Court entrance in the national capital

After breaching a 45-year record three days ago, water levels in the Yamuna here came down to 208.35 metres at 11 am on Friday even as several key areas in Delhi remained inundated.

On Thursday, the water level had started rising after remaining stable for three hours and reached 208.66 metres by 7 pm, three metres above the danger mark of 205.33 metres.

According to Central Water Commission (CWC) data, the water level stood at 208.57 metres on Friday and fell marginally to 208.48 metres at 5 am.

The water level in the Yamuna was 208.42 metres at 8 am, 208.38 metres at 10 am and 208.35 metres at 11 am.

The Yamuna in Delhi swelled to 207.71 metres on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978.

Meanwhile, the floodwaters reached the entrance of the Supreme Court in central Delhi and submerged the busy ITO intersection and Rajghat as the Irrigation and Flood Control Department’s regulator was damaged.

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Revenue Minister Atishi directed Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar to seek help from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and the Army to prevent the entry of floodwaters to new areas in the national capital.

In a tweet, Kejriwal said he will visit ITO to take stock of the situation.

“This breach is causing flooding of ITO and surroundings. Engineers have been working whole nite. I have directed the Chief Secretary to seek help of Army/NDRF but this shud be fixed urgently,” he said.

Commuters faced difficulties as traffic was diverted due to waterlogging at ITO road, a key stretch connecting east Delhi to Lutyens’s Delhi.

“No vehicular traffic will be allowed on Mahatma Gandhi Marg from Sarai Kale Khan towards IP Flyover due to overflow of drain water near WHO Building. Commuters are advised to avoid the stretch,” the Delhi Traffic Police said in a tweet.

Some commuters were seen dragging their vehicles on the waterlogged road.