Commuters in Delhi are facing immense difficulties as the overflowing Yamuna River continues to wreak havoc, resulting in flooded roads and disrupting road and rail traffic. Despite a slight decrease in the water level, areas such as ITO and Rajghat remained submerged on Friday due to damage suffered by a regulator of the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department near Indraprastha, exacerbating an already dire situation. The floodwaters even reached the central part of the city, engulfing the Supreme Court located in the Tilak Marg area.
With incessant rainfall persisting, the water level shows no signs of receding. Atishi Marlena, a Delhi minister, explained, “The water is not accumulating due to rain. The areas that experienced this situation yesterday still have their drains full. Water from ITO flows into the drains of Old Delhi, but due to flooding around Red Fort, all the drains of Old Delhi are full. Moreover, large amounts of water reached Delhi from Hathnikund, essentially turning Delhi into a reservoir. This situation is testing the capabilities of Delhi and its embankments. Our team, with the full support of NDRF and the Army’s Engineering Wing, is working around the clock, but I anticipate it will take another 10-12 hours for the situation to return to normal,” she told ANI on Friday.
Commuters have expressed their frustration as severe waterlogging has disrupted normal life in Delhi. Sources indicate that the national capital is facing its worst flood in 45 years. Delhi Cabinet Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that the government has instructed the chief secretary to prioritize and address the damage to the regulator.
“Our teams worked all night to fix the damage at the regulator of drain no. 12 near the WHO building. However, the breach is still allowing Yamuna water to enter the city. The government has directed the chief secretary to treat this matter as a top priority,” he tweeted.
The compromised regulator has allowed the Yamuna water to flow back towards the city areas. As of 8 am, the water level of the Yamuna stood at 208.42 meters. The flooding in ITO and Rajghat has prompted authorities to impose restrictions on traffic movement. Delhi Traffic Police warned, “No vehicular traffic will be allowed on Mahatma Gandhi Marg from Sarai Kale Khan towards IP Flyover due to overflow of drain water near WHO Building. Commuters are advised to avoid the stretch.”
Commuters faced challenges navigating the waterlogged ITO Road, a crucial route connecting East Delhi to Lutyens’s Delhi. People commuting to their offices and New Delhi Railway Station encountered hardships while traversing this stretch. Traffic movement was also halted on Bhairon Road due to the overflow of drain water near the Railway Under Bridge. Some individuals were seen struggling to drag their vehicles through the waterlogged ITO stretch.
Expressing concern, a commuter heading towards Noida said, “Until now, we felt that the floodwater was only entering low-lying areas. But now, the threat feels much closer as the nerve center of Delhi has been flooded.”
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