The rain death toll mounted in Himachal Pradesh on Wednesday while thousands were forced to evacuate their homes on the Yamuna’s banks in Delhi, where the river’s level breached its 1978 record.
Himachal witnessed the horror of a nine-foot-tall wall of muddy water washing away cars and parts of roads in Pandoh on Tuesday. Roads, bridges and hotels were washed away in flash floods in Manali.
State police said that at least 31 people had died in the last three days alone, and that the total rain-related body count this season was 80.
Several rescue operations are under way. The state government said that 2,000 people had been rescued in Kasol, and that an operation was on to extract 300 tourists from Chandertaal in the Spiti valley where there is more than three feet of snow.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday requesting that Haryana slow down the release of water from the Hathnikund barrage.
This was after the water level in the Yamuna at Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge rose to 207.55 metres at 1.30pm, breaching the record 207.49 metres witnessed in 1978, when there were huge floods in the capital. The warning mark at the site is 204.5 metres.
By 10pm, the Yamuna’s water level had reached 208.05 metres, with parts of Delhi’s ring road getting submerged. Major traffic diversions were put in place and prohibitory orders imposed along the banks.
After the 1978 floods, largescale construction of roads that also serve as bunds was undertaken. On Wednesday, the Yamuna’s waters breached embankments near the Kashmere Gate, flooding the inter-state bus terminus, Tibetan settlement and the market at Majnu ka Tila.
Of the estimated 46,000-odd population of the Yamuna’s floodplains in Delhi, some 16,564 had been evacuated until 8pm on Wednesday. Of these 14,534 are in Delhi government shelters, and the rest with friends and relations.
In his letter to Shah, Kejriwal said: “At the level of 207.55 metres now Yamuna can flood anytime…. I humbly request you that if possible the water from Hathnikund barrage should be released in limited and controlled volumes so that the level of Yamuna in Delhi does not increase further.”
Alluding to the G20 summit in September, he added: “The news of flooding in the national capital will not send a good message to the world.”
The Central Water Commission said in several tweets: “Hathnikund Barrage has limited storage. During high inflows, excess water is to be released downstream…. At present, it is likely that peak of flow will reach at Delhi Railway Bridge site during 8:00 to 10:00 hrs on 13/07/2023 leading to water level of about 208.00 m. Thereafter, it is likely to stay steady for few hours and to start falling down at around 14:00 hrs on 13/07/2023.”
It takes water 30 to 48 hours to flow from the barrage, located on the Haryana-Himachal border, to Delhi.
Kejriwal told reporters: “Our attempt right now is to make sure that we do everything possible to save the lives of the people residing in the low-lying areas near the river and to save their properties.
“Therefore I would like to appeal to the citizens living in these areas to not delay the process and leave their houses at the earliest. It is possible that the water levels may suddenly rise and the people later may not have the time to vacate their houses.”
The police and the NDRF carried out several rescues on the Yamuna on Wednesday. A man was electrocuted in Faridabad in Haryana.
Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal said that 10 people had died in the state, and Rs 4 lakh would be given to the family of each as ex gratia.
Northern Railway said that 400 trains had been cancelled and 160 journeys curtailed.