The water level of the Yamuna in Delhi rose to 203.74 metres on Thursday, close to the warning mark of 204.50 metres after heavy rains in the upper catchment areas of the river, officials said.
The city administration had sounded an alert in low-lying areas close to the river floodplains on Tuesday with Haryana discharging more water into the river from the Hathnikund Barrage.
The irrigation and flood control department has kept boats on standy and the situation is being monitored round-the-clock, an official said.
“The water level was recorded at 203.74 at the Old Railway Bridge at 8 pm. It was 203.37 meters at 10:30 am,” the official said.
The danger level is 205.33 meters. A flood alert is declared when the Yamuna crosses the “warning mark” of 204.50 meters.
The river is in spate because of rains in Delhi and the upper catchment areas, he said, adding that the administration anticipates the water level may rise further.
“The discharge rate at the Hathnikund Barrage peaked to 1.60 lakh cusecs on Tuesday afternoon, the highest this year so far,” the official said.
The water discharged from the barrage normally takes two-three days to reach the capital.
Haryana had been releasing water from the Yumananagr-located barrage at the rate of 85,879 cusecs at 10 am on Thursday. At 8 pm, the flow rate was 25,839 cusecs.
Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusec, but the discharge is increased after heavy rainfall in catchment areas.
One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second.
The water level may rise further as there is a prediction of rains in the catchment areas, the official said.
In 2019, 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.