Key bridge closed as Yamuna flows 1.33 m above danger mark
September 21st, 2010 - 1:00 pm ICT by IANSNew Delhi, Sep 21 (IANS) A key bridge over the Yamuna linking the capital with its eastern district and western Uttar Pradesh was shut Tuesday as the river waters rose further, causing traffic jams.
Following a release of 7.44 lakh cusecs of water by Haryana, the water level in the Yamuna reached 206.16 metres — 1.33 metres above the danger mark — Tuesday morning.
According to the Central Water Commission, the water level is expected to touch 207 metres, 2.17 metres above the danger mark, by Wednesday.
“The water level crossed 206 metres mark Tuesday morning, forcing us to shut the Old Railway Bridge,” said an official at the Flood Control room in Kashmere Gate.
The closure of the bridge, the oldest over the Yamuna here, forced the diversion of traffic onto the National Highway No. 24, that links Delhi with Uttar Pradesh, choking many arterial roads in parts of the capital.
Train services across the Old Railway Bridge — a double-decker road-cum-rail iron girder structure built in 1868 — were suspended and over two dozen trains from and to the Old Delhi Railway Station were diverted to other routes, a railway official said.
The release of water from the Hathnikund barrage upstream in Haryana has swollen the Yamuna and it is flowing much above the danger level of 204.83 metres at Delhi.
Several low-lying areas in parts of the capital are flooded by the rising water level in Yamuna and people from areas like New Usmanpur, Sarita Vihar, Kalindi Kunj, Jamia Nagar and Wazirabad have been shifted to temporary shelter camps.
Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan Monday said it was for the first time in the last 100 years that water in so much quantity had been released in the Yamuna.
“The government has made adequate arrangements to handle the situation. About 75 boats, 68 divers and boatmen and a team of the National Disaster Relief Force have been deployed on the riverside,” he said.
He appealed to the people staying in the low-lying areas to take shelter on higher ground.
- Yamuna flows above danger mark in Delhi, key bridge shut (Lead) - Sep 21, 2010
- Yamuna swells, flood threat increases in Delhi - Sep 22, 2010
- Yamuna swells, raises flood fears in Delhi (Lead) - Sep 22, 2010
- Tehri water rises, Yamuna abates in Haryana (Roundup) - Sep 21, 2010
- Yamuna recedes in Delhi, but still above danger mark - Sep 12, 2010
- Yamuna ebbs further, still flowing above danger level (Lead) - Sep 23, 2010
- Bridge over Yamuna shut amid rising water - Aug 25, 2010
- Yamuna still above danger mark - Sep 15, 2010
- Yamuna recedes but still flowing above danger mark - Sep 23, 2010
- Yamuna above danger mark, may rise more before receding - Sep 14, 2010
- Delhi flood threat persists as Yamuna water levels rise - Sep 11, 2010
- Railways cancel, divert 53 trains due to Delhi floods - Sep 11, 2010
- Flood threat recedes as Yamuna's water level goes down - Sep 25, 2010
- Yamuna water receding but still above danger mark - Aug 26, 2010
- Yamuna floods parts of Delhi - Sep 11, 2010
Tags: adequate arrangements, arterial roads, central water, danger mark, flood control, iron girder, jamia nagar, kalindi, key bridge, national disaster relief, railway bridge, railway official, railway station, raj kumar, river waters, sarita vihar, traffic jams, tuesday morning, wazirabad, yamuna