The Indian Army and Navy are playing a crucial role in resolving the flooding crisis in Delhi after damage to a drain regulator and jammed sluice gates of a barrage in the capital city's busiest traffic intersection led to Yamuna water spilling on to the roads. Indian Army's assistance was requested by the Delhi administration on the night of July 13 when Yamuna river was flowing above the danger mark and low-lying areas were getting inundated.
Delhi Chief Secretary and Army authorities discussed the issues that merited the Army's intervention.
One team of Army engineers was deployed to cut the overhang above the sluice gates at the ITO bridge barrage. The team worked overnight and completed the task on one of the gates by the morning, and was on standby for assistance in opening of the jammed gates.
Early on July 14, requirement of an additional team was felt near the WHO building in the same area where back-flow of water from Yamuna started flooding the city as the regulator door was damaged due to the surge of water from the river.
"The engineer team assessed the situation, and constructed a temporary bund to divert the water back to the Yamuna river. The backflow of water into the city has been controlled. The engineer team of the Army is deployed at the location and prepared to handle any situation," the Army said in a statement yesterday.
The Army was also roped in to restore water supply from the Wazirabad Water Treatment Plant. The pumps for pumping water supply to the city are submerged in water and the filtration plant has become non-functional. The Army is on stand-by to restore operations at the plant once the water level in the river dips.
Two additional Army teams have also been moved from Meerut in neighbouring Uttar Pradesh to augment the available resources.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday said the Indian Navy was also assisting them in opening the jammed gates of the ITO barrage. Five of the 32 gates at the ITO barrage were jammed.
After nearly 20 hours of non-stop efforts, the first jammed gate of the barrage was opened, Mr Kejriwal informed late last night. A diving team extracted the silt from under the water with a compressor, then the gate was pulled up with a hydra crane.
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