Yamuna water level nears warning mark in Delhi

The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi rose to 204.30 meters on Friday morning, precariously close to the warning mark of 204.50 meters, officials said.

"The water level was recorded at 204.30 meters at the Old Railway Bridge at 9 am. It was 203.77 metres at 10 am on Thursday," an official of the irrigation and flood control department said.

The water level rose because more water was released from the Hathnikund barrage on Tuesday. The flow rate was 36,557 cusec at 5 pm on Tuesday, the highest in the last three days, he said.

The water discharged from the barrage — which provides drinking water to Delhi — normally takes two-three days to reach the capital.

Water was being released into the Yamuna at the rate of 11,055 cusec at 8 am on Friday.

"The flow rate has remained between 10,000 cusec to 25,000 cusec over the last two days, which is not very high. Therefore, the water level of the river is expected to recede," the official said.

One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litre per second.

The river had swelled to 204.38 meters on Monday, which was just a metre below the danger mark of 205.33 meters.

Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusec, but the discharge is increased after heavy rainfall in catchment areas.

Last year, the flow rate had peaked to 8.28 lakh cusec on August 18-19, and the water level of the Yamuna had hit the 206.60 meter-mark, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 meters.

The Delhi government had to launch evacuation and relief operations after the overflowing river submerged many low-lying areas.

In 1978, the river had swelled to the all-time record water level of 207.49 meters.

In 2013, it had risen to 207.32 metres.

Delhi's Water Minister Satyendar Jain had Monday said the government was ready to deal with any flood-like situation.