Temple immersed in Yamuna
– Photo: Amar Ujala
Expansion
On the rising water level in Yamuna, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called an emergency meeting and instructed to evacuate people from the affected areas and provide all possible facilities in relief centres. He appealed to the people living in low-lying areas to vacate their houses. Relief centers have been set up at many places in Delhi. If needed, nearby schools have been instructed to make relief centres. On the other hand, Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena also inspected the flood affected area on Wednesday. Along with this, a meeting of DDMA has also been called today i.e. on Thursday.
CM said that many areas including Boat Club, Monastery Market, Neeli Chhatri Temple, Yamuna Bazar, Geeta Ghat have been waterlogged. A large amount of water was released on Tuesday. When it reaches Delhi, the water level of Yamuna will increase further. After this meeting held at the secretariat, in the presence of Revenue Minister Atishi and Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj, Kejriwal said in a press conference that the water level in Yamuna is increasing and flood situation is prevailing in Delhi. It is not raining in Delhi for two-three days.
Whatever water is coming in Yamuna now, it is reaching Delhi via Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. All this water comes by opening the Hathinikund Barrage. We do not have much information about the condition of this barrage, so a letter has been written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah asking him to reduce the speed of water release in Hathini Kund. It is also necessary to remove water from there, but if the speed at which water is being sent towards Delhi is reduced, then the level of Yamuna can be stopped from rising further.
Things will improve in a day or two
Kejriwal said that shortly after writing the letter to Amit Shah, he received a call from Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. He told that Hathini Kund is just a barrage and there is no reservoir behind it. There is no facility to stop the water, so the water cannot be stopped. Now the water coming from Himachal Pradesh has started decreasing and the situation will improve in the coming one or two days.