Breaches upstream, flood fears ebb
The Yamuna continued flowing over the danger mark by over a metre as flood-hit Haryana released more water from a barrage upstream on Friday. The Yamuna level rose to 206 metres on Friday evening, confirmed Delhi government’s flood control department.
Chief minister Sheila Dikshit maintained that the situation was “under control” and people living in low-lying areas had been shifted to safer places.
However, there was some relief as the earlier fears of Yamuna hitting the 207 metre-mark on Friday did not come true. Ms Dikshit said breaches in embankments at several places in Haryana has lessened the impact as the huge volume of water which was to reach Delhi got dispersed fortunately.
Delhi flood control minister Raj Kumar Chauhan, who inspected the low-lying areas on Friday evening, appealed to the people not to panic and reiterated that there was no danger of floods.
Meanwhile, the government had to shut the busy Old Yamuna bridge again for rail and road traffic for an indefinite period as the water level rose during the day. The closure of the bridge resulted in the diversion of traffic onto a highway linking Delhi with Uttar Pradesh, which resulted in further choking of the roads.
Meanwhile, facing embarrassment over mosquito breeding sites around Commonwealth Games Village due to rains and flooding of the Yamuna, the city government on Friday sought assistance from National Disaster Response Force to fight the mosquito menace.
Delhi health minister Kiran Walia directed the MCD to form 100 teams to spray mosquito repellent in the two km area surrounding the Games Village.
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