'No rains in Delhi in 2-3 days. Water entering from Himachal Pradesh, Haryana': Arvind Kejriwal writes to Amit Shah

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Tuesday said that the water entering Delhi was coming from Haryana and Himachal Pradesh since the capital had not received any rains in the last 2-3 days. He also said that he has written to Union Home Minister Amit Shah urging him to release a limited quantity of water from the Hathnikhund barrage in Haryana to prevent water levels to rise further in Yamuna.

#WATCH | Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, says “The water level of the Yamuna River in Delhi has reached 207.71 metres, which is the highest ever. Delhi has not received rainfall in the last 2-3 days. Water is entering Delhi from Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. Regarding this, I have also… pic.twitter.com/wPUZk7XO3u

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2023

Earlier on Wednesday, Delhi Police imposed section 144 CrPC as a precautionary measure in the flood-prone areas in the national capital as the Yamuna River swelled to 207.25 metres,  the highest ever in the past 45 years.

Over the past three days, Delhi recorded a rapid increase in the Yamuna water level.  It shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal writes to Union Home Minister Amit Shah

Limited quantity of water should be released from Hathnikund, so that the water level of Yamuna does not increase further. G20 summit is to be held in Delhi so if flood happens in Delhi, it won’t send a… pic.twitter.com/iVbBUv8gTR

— ANI (@ANI) July 12, 2023

Chief Minister Kejriwal said that by tonight Yamuna will reach 207.72m, till now the highest level was 207.49 which was recorded in 1978.

In his letter to Shah, Kejriwal wrote, “It is well above the danger mark (205.33 m). Prior to this, the maximum level of Yamuna had been reached in the year 1978, which was 207.49 metres. At that time there was a flood in Delhi and the situation became very serious. At the level of 207.55 metres now Yamuna can flood anytime,” the letter reads.

Kejriwal stressed that a flooded Delhi would send a bad message to delegates who are scheduled to attend the G20 Summit in the national capital.

“I humbly request you that if possible the water from Hathni Kund barrage should be released in limited and controlled volumes so that the level of Yamuna in Delhi does not increase further,” he said.

Forty-five boats have been deployed for awareness, evacuation and rescue work and NGOs have been roped in to provide relief to the evacuated people.

With inputs from agencies