Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday, July 11, said that due to the increasing water level of the Yamuna river, his government has decided to shut down three water treatment plants at Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla which will lead to water scarcity in a few areas.
In a statement, Kejriwal said, "Due to the increasing water levels in the Yamuna River, the Wazirabad, Chandrawal, and Okhla water treatment plants are being shut down. As a result, some areas of Delhi will face water scarcity. As soon as the Yamuna water recedes, we will try to start them as soon as possible.”
Earlier, the Delhi government also ordered the closure of all educational institutes in the flood-affected areas. As of Thursday morning, the water level of the Yamuna stood at 208.46 meters, way above the danger mark of 205.33 meters. The Chief Minister made an "appeal to all volunteers, councillors, MLAs and all other people to visit relief camps and provide all possible support."
Due to the increasing water level, surrounding areas of the river are getting inundated, leading to the evacuation of people. Sources in the Delhi government said that they have evacuated 16,000 persons and sent them to relief camps.
As the water level increases, the surrounding areas are getting inundated. People are being evacuated from the submerged areas to safer places. Such a flood was reported 45 years ago when the Yamuna water level had crossed 207.49 meters. On Wednesday night, the ring road (Majnu ka Tila to Rajghat) was closed after river water overflowed onto the road.
By Thursday morning adjacent roads were also closed. The Delhi Police said that they evacuated 1,006 persons and 999 cattle. “In PS New Usmanpur area, we rescued 260 people and 185 cattle. In PS Shastri Park, we rescued 266 people and 262 cattle. In PS Sonia Vihar, we rescued 480 persons and 230 cattle. Total we rescued 1006 Persons and 999 cattle," police said.
