Yamuna levels began receding on Thursday though the river continued flowing 1.61 metres above the danger mark. While the last recorded level was 206.44 metres at 6 pm, officials in the irrigation & flood department said it would now decrease every hour. It has already reduced nearly 80 cm in the past 24 hours.
“Seeing the decreasing trend since Wednesday evening, level of the Yamuna will only go down. If we take out the mean of the water level then it is decreasing by nearly 10 cm every hour. If it continues like this, then by Friday midnight, water level may reach 206 metres. This is because of lesser release of water from Haryana and also naturally, due to lack of rain,” said an official.
Release from the Hathni Kund Barrage has been controlled and since then, the water level has been on a steady decline.
At 9 am on Thursday, Haryana released 23,175 cusecs, which led to a drop to 207.15 m, from Wednesday’s 207.32 m. It further decreased to 206.98 m at 12 pm, although an additional 26,333 cusecs of water was released. Due to increased amount of water released, at 3 pm, water level rose to 207.32 m. However, it again decreased to 206.54 m and 206.44 m at 5 and 6 pm, respectively.
According to officials in the flood department, average water level during this time remains at 202 m. “The river level during this season normally settles at 202 m. It is high because of the extra water being released from Haryana. The situation is still under control. If there are no heavy showers, apart from extra release of water from Hathni Kund, water level will eventually slide below 204.83 m,” an official added.
Delhi Minister of Social Welfare, Women and Child Development Kiran Walia on Thursday distributed relief material and food packets to the flood-affected people at Old Railway Bridge near Geeta Colony.