#NewsBytesExplainer: Why Delhi is flooded despite no rainfall
Despite not receiving any rainfall in the last few days, Delhi is facing floods due to an unprecedented spate in the Yamuna River. While all fingers are pointed at the neighboring state of Haryana—also dealing with floods—for releasing excess water into the river, resulting in the flooding, experts said other factors may also have contributed to the crisis.
Encroachment, siltation main reasons for flooding: CWC officials
The senior officials from Central Water Commission(CWC) said the water released from Haryana's Hathnikund barrage took less time to reach Delhi than in previous years. "The main reason could be encroachment and siltation. Earlier, the water had more space to flow. Now, it passes through a constricted cross-section," they said. Previous reports blamed heavy rainfall in the river's upper catchment areas for the spate.
Water from barrage usually reached Delhi in 2-3 days
The water level at Delhi's Old Railway Bridge was 203.18m at 1:00pm on Sunday after the city experienced its highest rainfall in over four decades on the weekend. Haryana, which also experienced incessant rainfall, discharged one lakh cusec of water from the Hathnikund barrage. The CWC officials said the water from the barrage usually takes two to three days to reach Delhi.
Water level surged faster than estimate
The Delhi government issued a flood alert on Sunday, and the CWC expected the water to cross the warning level at 204.5m and the danger mark at 205.33m on Tuesday. However, the water level reached 206.24m on Tuesday and 207.18m on Wednesday. The previous highest water level was recorded at 207.49m in 1978.
Heavy rainfall in region brought silt
Before the water level reached an all-time high of 208.5m on Thursday morning, PTI quoted officials as pointing at siltation for causing the surge in water level. They said saturated soil brought on by heavy precipitation in Delhi and nearby areas over the weekend had sedimented and was preventing infiltration or surface water from soaking into the ground.
'Over 20 bridges within 22-km river stretch obstructing flow'
Notably, Bhim Singh Rawat, the associate coordinator of South Asia Network on Dams, Rivers, and People (SANDRP), said the unprecedented elevation of Yamuna's riverbed was due to significant silt accumulation. "More than 20 bridges within the 22-km river stretch from Wazirabad to Okhla obstruct the flow, leading to the deposition of silt in the riverbed and the formation of numerous mid-stream sandbars," he said.
Hathnikund barrage is near Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh border
It is worth noting that Hathnikund barrage is situated in North Haryana's Yamunanagar district and is 180km from Delhi. The barrage lies on the Yamuna River, which separates Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, near the state's border with Himachal Pradesh, which is also experiencing devastating floods triggered by incessant showers.
