The Pioneer 27.08.2010
Water recedes, misery tooStaff Reporter | New Delhi
After six days of flooding and unremitting rain, the Capital got some respite on Thursday. The water level in the Yamuna began to recede in the morning, albeit it continued to flow above the danger mark. It plunged by 12 cms in the evening and was gauged at 205.77 metres at 5 pm. The water level augmented to 205.89 metre on Wednesday night. With the decreasing of water level, the normalcy returned to the city. No major traffic disruption due to waterlogging or rainwater was reported. The Old Yamuna Bridge, which was shut for rail and road traffic on Wednesday morning, was reopened at 8.30am.
An official of Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department of the Delhi Government said however the water started reducing from morning, it may rise again since late on Thursday evening Harayana released 1.02 lakh cusecs more water in the Yamuna. “More water was released from Haryana in the evening and it will reach Delhi on Friday. Then, the water level is likely to go up again,” said he.
SS Ghankrokta, Divisional Commissioner (East) said after the water showed decreasing trend, the administration will now be focusing on medical services being provided to the people living in low-lying area.
“There is always a possibility of water-borne diseases later. The Government is well prepared and we have set up teams of doctors and efficient support staff, which will keep visiting the affected area. We also work in coordination with Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). They do spraying of bio-larvicides and chemcial larvicides to prevent outbreak of dengue, malaria and other ailments,” said the senior Delhi Government official.
As the water level receded, the rail and road traffic was resumed on the Old Yamuna Bridge. The Northern Railway and Delhi Traffic Police had stopped any traffic movement to the bridge as precautionary measure. “After our engineers examined the water level at site, the rail traffic movement was restored at 8.30 in the morning,” said the Northern Railway spokesperson. Daily travellers commuting from the neighbouring States heaved a sign of relief, as the train service was restored. With the cancellation or diversion of trains, lakhs of passenger had tough time. The closure of the bridge affected the train services between western Uttar Pradesh and the Capital most. As a result several Old Delhi Railway Station-bound suburban trains were cancelled and more than 25 mails or express trains were diverted or terminated at other destinations.
The water level, which had crossed the danger mark of 204.83 metres on Friday, had touched 205.96 metres on Wednesday evening, but it came down to 205.77 metres at 5 pm. On Thursday, Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Minister Rajkumar Chauhan also visited various flood-affected areas, like Sonia Vihar, Garhi Mandu, Usmanpur Pusta, Jagatpur Village and Shatri Nagar.
He also inspected the camps put up for the evacuated people and instructed officials to ensure availability of food, water, doctor, proper lighting and security. “The Government is closely monitoring the situation and all other agencies are fully prepared to meet any challenges. The situation is being monitored round-the-clock through control room set up by DC (East),” said he.
Currently, over 1,800 people are taking shelter in 350 relief camps set up in various places in East Delhi. Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit had visited various relief camps on Wednesday and instructed officials to ensure availability of food, medicines and proper lighting there.
A little relief from rain
It was a sweaty day for Delhiites on Thursday, as sun was shining bright and humidity oscillated between 72 and 92 per cent. The day went without showers though there was some rain on Wednesday night. The maximum temperature was recorded at 33.9 degrees while the minimum was at 25.6 degrees, both normal temperature for this period of the year, the MeT office said. The weatherman has predicted rain and thundershowers in some places with temperature oscillating between 27 and 34 degrees. Some parts of the Capital experienced light to moderate rain on Wednesday night. The rain gauges measured 0.6 mm for a period of 24 hours ending at 8.30 am. The MCD central room received 44 complaints of waterlogging, five of falling of tree or tree parts and four of collapse of building portions in the past 24 hours starting from 2 pm on Wednesday.
