Even as the Yamuna continues to run above the danger threshold, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal outlining all the significant causes of the severe flooding in the nation’s capital.
The LG has identified the shortcomings on the part of the government and recommended remedies based on analysis carried out by experts and officers of the relevant authorities.
The letter stated, “The highest recorded discharge of 8.28 lac cusec from Hathni Kund was in 2019, which resulted in the water level in Yamuna at the Old Railway Bridge (ORB) touching the 206.6-meter mark, whereas, the discharge this year was only 3.59 lac cusec, yet the Yamuna level reached the record level of 208.66 meters at the ORB,”
Out of the 44 km of Yamuna in Delhi, the 22 km stretch from Wazirabad to Okhla has 18 major obstructions inside Yamuna, resulting in impeding the free flow of water. Outdated and inaccurate level-based discharge computing table held by DJB to compute the discharge at Wazirabad Barrage, it added.
Out of the 44 km of Yamuna in Delhi, the 22 km stretch between Wazirabad to Okhla contains 18 significant blockages, which prevent the Yamuna’s natural water flow. DJB’s level-based discharge estimating table, which was used to calculate the discharge at Wazirabad Barrage, was out-of-date and erroneous, it continued.
The LG said that “Assign permanent ownership of the Yamuna River stream, to one department, on the lines of DDA being the exclusive owner of the Yamuna flood plain, and put all other stakeholder departments as adjuncts tasked with specific responsibilities.”
Handing over all the pumping installations at Regulator locations to a single Department to enhance operational and maintenance efficiency. There is an urgent requirement for coordinated action by CPWD and PWD to ensure hassle-free drainage from Rajghat and Samadhi Complex, LG said.
“The hydrographic profile of Yamuna in terms of width, depth and height be ascertained and sustainable desilting/dredging, pending for the last 10 years, be undertaken, at the earliest,” it added.
In addition, LG advised that the comprehensive yearly Flood Control Plan be created well in advance and that preparations be undertaken by June 10 of each year, or roughly 20 days before the expected start of the Delhi monsoon.
Future encroachments on the riverbed and floodplain will be tolerated under no circumstances. According to the statement, the Yamuna River is being dug up specifically at the key section between Wazirabad and the ITO Barrage.
Furthermore, Yamuna Bazar and other low-lying localities require the immediate implementation of an advanced flood management plan.
