New Delhi: The water level in Yamuna in Delhi on Thursday rose to 203.37 meters, close to a warning sign of 204.50 meters after heavy rains in the water catchment area over the river, officials said.
The administration has sounded a warning in the lowland area close to the river floodland on Tuesday and the situation was monitored all the time, they said.
“The water level is recorded at 203.37 meters at the Old Railway Bridge at 10:30 a.m.,” said an irrigation department official and flood control.
Yamuna has swelled due to rain in Delhi and the upper water catchment area, he said, added that more water was released from a series of hathnikund to the river in Yamunanagar Haryana District.
“The flow rate peaked to 1.60 lakh cusecs in the last 24 hours, the highest so far this year,” the official said.
Water thrown away from a series usually takes two-three days to reach the capital.
The water was released to Yamuna at the level of 85,879 cusec at 10 am on Thursday.
Usually, the flow rate on the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusecs, but the discharge increases after heavy rainfall in the catchment area.
One Cusec is equivalent to 28.32 liters per second.
Water levels can rise further because there are rain predictions in the catchment area, the official said.
In 2019, the flow rate peaked at 8.28 lakh cusecs on August 18 and 19, and the surface of the water in Yamuna had touched 206.60 meters, violating a danger sign of 205.33 meters.
The Delhi government must launch evacuation operations and assistance after the river overflows soak many lowland areas.
In 2013, the river had swelled to 207.32 meters.
In 1978, the water level in Yamuna rose to a record 207.49 meters.