Manas Dasgupta
NEW DELHI, July 23: The water level in the Yamuna has crossed the danger mark in Delhi again following heavy discharge from Hathnikund barrage in Haryana, while continuous heavy rainfall in many parts of Gujarat have led to severe waterlogging causing a flood-like situation.
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a yellow warning and forecast heavy rainfall very likely to occur at many places in Odisha while many roads, houses and shops were damaged as heavy rains and cloudbursts hit several places in Uttarakhand’s Uttarkashi, officials said. No casualties have been reported in rain-related incidents so far.
The Delhi government is on high alert after over 2 lakh cusecs of water was released from Haryana. At 3 pm on Sunday the river was flowing at 206.26 metres. This is expected to rise to 206.70 metres by the evening.
Gujarat also experienced a heavy rain pounding in several districts in the south and Saurashtra regions on Saturday, triggering a flood-like situation in urban areas and isolating villages, amid rising water levels in dams and overflowing rivers.
In Gujarat, Junagadh district in the Saurashtra region was the worst-hit with the city recording 241 mm rainfall in the 24-hour period ending at 6 am on Sunday. Severe waterlogging and flash floods in the city have resulted in cars getting piled on each other and vehicles and cattle being swept away. People were seen wading through waist-deep water to safer places. Some of them were rescued by volunteers as they were carried away in strong currents.
Two national highways, 10 state highways and 300 rural roads were closed in Gujarat on Saturday due to flooding, and the traffic resumed at places where water receded, authorities said. Authorities, including the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), are working on a war footing to evacuate people and restore normalcy in areas where the rain has stopped.
Nearly 3,000 people have been shifted from Junagadh to safer places. Cranes have been deployed to remove vehicles swept away and damaged due to flooding in some areas. Authorities are also using dewatering pumps to remove water accumulated in residential areas.
The IMD on Sunday issued an ‘orange’ alert for Gujarat, saying the state was expected to receive “heavy to very heavy rainfall” on July 24. It also predicted heavy to very heavy rains at a few places with isolated extremely heavy rainfall in Devbhumi Dwarka, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Valsad districts in the next 24 hours.
In Delhi, Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Atishi said the Arvind Kejriwal government was monitoring the developments closely. The Yamuna has been in spate for over a week now, leading to flooding in several parts of the national capital. The primary reason behind the steady rise in the water level is the release of water from the Haryana barrage.
The barrage has received a huge volume of water following the monsoon fury in Himachal. Ms Atishi has said some parts of Yamuna Khadar might see flooding if the water level rises beyond 206.7 metres. “The government is fully prepared to carry out immediate evacuations in these vulnerable areas” she added.
Relief camps have been set up and regular announcements are being made in areas at the risk of flooding. “The Revenue Department has taken extensive measures to tackle the situation effectively. Whether it’s the Central district, Eastern District, or areas like Yamuna Bazar and Yamuna Khadar, we have made sufficient preparations to address any challenges that may arise,” the minister said.
The swollen Yamuna had last week flooded several areas and key roads, displacing many families and leading to huge loss of property. Water had reached up to the Red Fort and the busy ITO intersection.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said on Sunday that the state suffered estimated losses of nearly ₹1,000 crore due to recent floods. A detailed report on the losses will be sent to the Union government and a relief package will be sought, he said. An on-ground assessment of the losses will be done and people will be provided compensation, he said.
Several districts of Punjab and Haryana were battered by heavy rains this month that left normal life paralysed and flooded vast tracts of agricultural land and residential areas.
At least 16 people were killed in rain-related incidents in parts of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra in the last 10 days, where nearly 4,500 houses were damaged due to heavy rains, officials said on Sunday.
The downpour in the last few days also affected nearly 54,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which more than 53,000 hectares land is located in the Amravati division alone, where 2,796 people were shifted to safer places, mostly in Yavatmal district.
In the Nagpur division, Gadchiroli and Bhandara districts witnessed three deaths each, Wardha and Gondia two each and Chandrapur reported one death since July 13, officials said. The Amravati division recorded four deaths on a single day on July 21 with Yavatmal topping the list with three fatalities, followed by Akola and Buldhana which recorded one death each.
The Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Sunday said the State government was fully alert to tackle issues caused by excessive rains. Speaking to reporters at Nagpur airport, he said some parts of the state had received average rainfall of 15 to 20 days in a matter of just two to three days.
Weather alerts are being given to the administration of areas where heavy rainfall is expected and teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and their state counterpart SDRF were being quickly deployed as and when required, he said.