Delhi Flood: Yamuna Water Reaches Supreme Court, Remains Over Danger Mark

Delhi continued to witness a flood-like situation on Friday in several low-lying areas near the Yamuna following heavy rainfall and spate in the river for the past few days.

The raging river even reached the Supreme Court, located in the Tilak Marg area in the central part of the city, ITO, Rajghat and caused immense hardships to people.

"I have never seen this scenario earlier. We are facing a lot of problems while going to the office. We want this problem should be tackled as soon as possible," a commuter was quoted saying by ANI.

"I have never seen this level of water logging. We are facing a lot of difficulties in going to the office," another said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal declared that all non-essential government offices, schools and colleges in the city be closed till Sunday. Private establishments across the city have been advised to work from home.

There are two major barrages on the Yamuna Dakpathar in Dehradun and Hathnikund in Yamunanagar upstream of Delhi. There are no dams on the river and, therefore, most of the monsoon rain flow remains unutilised, resulting in floods during the season.

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

The river exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and the closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic.

The water level breached the previous record of 207.49 metres by 1 pm on Wednesday and the 208-metre mark by 10 pm.

Major floods in Delhi occurred in 1924, 1977, 1978, 1988, 1995, 1998, 2010 and 2013. An analysis of flood data from 1963 to 2010 indicates an increasing trend for floods occurring in September, and a decreasing trend in July, according to research.

The India Meteorological Department has, however, predicted heavy rain in Delhi for the next 4-5 days.