Delhi floods: ‘All five gates of ITO Barrage to be opening…’: CM Arvind Kejriwal
1 min read 15 Jul 2023, 09:27 AM ISTDelhi CM Arvind Kejriwal announced that the first gate of the ITO Barrage has been opened after 20 hours of effort to clear the silt under the water. The Yamuna River in Delhi breached the danger mark due to heavy rainfall, causing flooding in several areas.
PremiumDelhi floods: Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday said that the first jammed gate of the ITO Barrage has been opened. He informed the gate opening operation took nearly 20 hours after a diving team extracted the silt from under the water with a compressor.
"After nearly 20 hours of non-stop toil, the first jammed gate of the ITO Barrage has been opened. A diving team extracted the silt from under the water with a compressor, then the gate was pulled up with a hydra crane," Arvind Kejriwal tweeted.
The chief minister also expressed gratitude to the Army Engineer Regiment and the divers for their efforts and said that all five gates will be opened soon.
On Friday morning, CM Kejriwal inspected the work to open 5 gates of Yamuna Barrage and said that they are trying to get these gates opened and bring the situation back to normal.
He also expressed grief over the death of three children who drowned in a ditch, filled with water amid severe waterlogging in the national capital on Friday.
"It is very unfortunate. Those three children went swimming in the river. We have warned so many times that do not go near the rivers. This is a very big crisis. Everyone should work together and not play the blame game," Kejriwal said.
Delhi is witnessing a flood-like situation, with several areas inundated as the Yamuna River breached the danger mark following incessant rainfall, the highest recorded in the last 45 years.
Yamuna water level was recorded at 207.98 meters at the Old Railway Bridge at 11 pm on Friday, the official data of Central Water Commission (CWC) show.
Expectations of improvement in the flood-like situation in Delhi post reduction in water level in river Yamuna are likely to be dampened by IMD's yellow alert for the city on Saturday. IMD has predicted moderate rainfall in Delhi in the coming 4-5 days.
The water level of the Yamuna is receding gradually at a rate of 0.1 meters and it will take a day's time for the situation to return to normal, said Atishi, Delhi Public Works Department Minister.
(With inputs from agencies)
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