"Flood Unlikely In Delhi, But We're Ready": Arvind Kejriwal On Record Rain

Floods are unlikely in Delhi, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal today said, quoting predictions made by experts. If needed, we will shift the people from low-lying areas to safe spots, he added, hours after his Public Works Department Minister Atishi said the water level of the Yamuna river is set to cross the danger mark by tomorrow morning.

The water level in Yamuna has already crossed the danger mark. It reached 204.63 metres at 1 pm today. The warning level is 204.50. The Delhi Chief Minister said the capital city is prepared even if a flood-like situation does arise.

"The unprecedented rain caused problems to people and Delhi's system was not able to withstand it. Every year after rainfall, some vulnerable areas are waterlogged and the water is drained out in a couple of hours. But the 153 mm of rainfall was unprecedented and an event which happened in nearly 40 years," he said.

Mr Kejriwal said he is in touch with Central Water Commission in view of rising Yamuna water levels, and their predictions indicate a flood-like situation won't arise.

"This is not the time to point fingers at each other. The governments of all affected states need to work together to provide relief to the public," he added.

Mr Kejriwal also claimed that this is the first time when waterlogging has been reported in the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) areas. "Some roads also caved in there. We have asked officials to ascertain the cause," he said.

Potholes on roads will be filled with stones to avert untoward incidents, the Chief Minister further said, adding that he has asked NDMC to resolve waterlogging issues.

The Delhi government issued a flood warning on Sunday as Haryana released more than one lakh cusecs of water into the Yamuna river from the Hathnikund barrage. Another 1,90,837 cusecs was released from the barrage at 1 pm today.

Mr Kejriwal said Delhi saw floods last in 1971 when water was released from Hathnikund, and steps have been taken since then to ensure there are no floods.

2013, eight lakh cusecs water was released from Haryana. The water rose, but there were no floods, he said.

"If Yamuna water level crosses 206 metres, we will evacuate people from around the Yamuna. 41,000 people have been identified," Mr Kejriwal said, adding that they will be shifted to relief camps that have been set up.

Other preparatory measure Arvind Kejriwal spoke about were -- using 680 PWD pumps to drain water. 100 additional mobile pumps in use too. Construction work to be stopped for now to avoid accidents