Army Joins Flood Relief Ops In Delhi, Busiest Road Is Submerged

Delhi's ITO crossing area, the busiest traffic intersection in the national capital, has been flooded after a drain regulator broke down amid rising water levels in the Yamuna river. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a tweet earlier today confirmed that the breach is the cause of the flooding in the area, and that he has directed officials to seek the help of the Army and disaster relief force to fix it urgently.

"This breach is causing flooding of ITO and surroundings. Engineers have been working whole nite (sic). I have directed the Chief Secretary to seek help of Army/NDRF but this shud be fixed urgently," he tweeted, quoting his cabinet colleague Saurabh Bharadwaj's earlier tweet informing that water from the Yamuna was entering the city through the breach despite teams working all-night to fix the damage.

Mr Kejriwal visited the spot, which connects key parts of Delhi, and said the situation could have been avoided had a team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) been present at the spot last night itself, as his government requested the Lieutenant Governor earlier. He reiterated that the Army has been roped in to help resolve the situation.

The LG said the focus should be on solving the crisis, and it wasn't a time to point fingers.

The regulator of drain number 12 between the Indraprastha bus depot and the WHO building on Delhi's Ring Road broke down around 7 pm yesterday. This resulted in back-flow in the drain that carried water from central Delhi to Yamuna. Mr Kejriwal has said this is the reason ITO and surrounding areas are flooded.

Delhi Health Minister and Delhi Jal Board Chairman Saurabh Bharadwaj reportedly tried to get it fixed all night without success.

Two engineering task forces, deployed to assist the Delhi administration at ITO and the WHO building, reached the spot late last night to assess the situation. 

Some sluice gates at the ITO barrage got jammed, and the engineering teams worked overnight to cut the overhang. The team is now on stand by.

At the WHO building, one drain-out gate got jammed and is likely to break. The second engineering team is at the location and making alternate arrangements.

Two task forces are also being moved from Meerut to Delhi, and will be kept on stand by to deal with contingencies.

Loose electric wires in the ITO area, which has been barricaded from both sides to block vehicles from entering, is another cause of concern. Pedestrians were getting electric jolts from the metal fence on the divider of the road, where they are forced to walk to avoid the inundated pavement. Authorities have cut the power supply to electric poles for now.

The water level of Yamuna river at Old Railway Bridge (ORB) has crossed the danger mark and is at 208.40 meters, recorded around 9 am. Release of water from the Hathnikund barrage in Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana amid incessant rainfall throughout the week has caused the Yamuna river to spill over on to parts of Delhi, despite repeated assurances from the Delhi government that it was prepared, and floods were unlikely.

The Central Water Commission has predicted that the water levels will fall today and could reach 208.30 metres by 1 pm.

The Delhi government shut down schools, colleges, crematoriums, and even water treatment plants as water from the overflowing Yamuna flooded several parts of the national capital yesterday.