Delhi: Army, Navy's nonstop efforts to halt Yamuna flooding
The Indian Army and Navy are reportedly working day and night to resolve the flood crisis that has engulfed key areas of Delhi. This comes as the Yamuna River breached the danger mark and was flowing at 208.66m this week, breaking a 45-year record. Reportedly, the cause of the floods was a damaged drain regulator and jammed sluice gates at the ITO Bridge barrage.
Delhi administration requested Army to intervene
Amid rising concerns, the Delhi administration on Thursday night requested the Army to intervene. Later, one team of Army engineers was deployed, which successfully cut the overhang above one of the sluice gates by the next morning. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said the Navy was also roped in to open the five jammed gates of the 32 sluiced gates at ITO barrage.
1 jammed sluiced gate opened late Friday
On Friday night, Kejriwal informed that after a nearly 20-hour struggle, the first jammed gate of the barrage was finally opened. A team of divers used a compressor to remove the silt from underwater, and then a hydraulic crane lifted the gate. Meanwhile, another team of Army engineers was called on Friday to handle the situation near the WHO building in the same area.
Army built temporary bund to divert water back to Yamuna
The drain regulator door was reportedly damaged due to the rising water level of Yamuna, which caused the water to flow back and flood the city. The Army stated the engineering team constructed a temporary bund to divert the water to Yamuna again. It also helped to restore the water supply from the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant, where the filtration plant became non-functional.
Delhi to witness downpour on Sunday: IMD
Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that moderate rain was expected in most parts of Delhi NCR till the early hours of Sunday. "Another spell will then take place toward the second half of Sunday," IMD scientist Kuldeep Srivastava said. Reportedly, the flood situation in Delhi worsened this week after Haryana released nearly one lakh cusecs of water into the Yamuna River.
