Drinking water shortage likely in Delhi as Yamuna keeps rising

New Delhi: Roads turned into rivers and water gushed into houses, medical facilities, crematoriums and shelter homes, impairing normal life and causing immense hardship for the people in the national capital as the Yamuna river water level rose to record high.

Amid the flooding, the city is staring at drinking water shortage as the Delhi government decided to cut down supply by 25 per cent following the closure of three water treatment plants -- Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla -- due to the rising level of the Yamuna.

The river swelled to a staggering 208.62 metres at 1 pm on Thursday, smashing the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres set 45 years ago by a significant margin.

Several key areas in Delhi, including the secretariat which houses the offices of the chief minister as well as his cabinet colleagues, were flooded on Thursday as authorities scrambled to lead rescue and relief efforts.

Waterlogging at the Kashmere Gate bus terminal forced the Delhi Transport Department to terminate buses from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and elsewhere at the Singhu border.

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi on Wednesday issued an advisory asking people not to go to Nigamobodh Ghat to carry out last rites. The crematorium in Geeta Colony too was closed due to the rise in Yamuna water levels.

The Delhi civic body has advised people to take the body of their near and dear ones to other cremation grounds at Panchkuian Road, Sat Nagar, Punjabi Bagh, Green Park, Dakshinpuri or preferably in their neighbourhood.

The Yamuna waters also reached the walls of the iconic Red Fort and people were seen navigating through waist-deep and in some places neck-high water. Severe waterlogging was also reported in Rajghat and Purana Qila areas.

As the main gate of the Delhi government-run Sushruta Trauma Centre got inundated, authorities were forced to transfer 40 patients to the LNJP Hospital, officials said.

Water also entered the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board's two shelter homes at Gandhi Park in Old Delhi and Geeta Ghat at Yamuna Bank -- the worst-affected parts of the national capital -- leading to the evacuation of its occupants.

In East Delhi, which is near the Yamuna river, areas such as Boat Club, Pandav Nagar, parts of Gandhi Nagar and Bhajanpura were inundated. Despite that, the locals in some areas were reluctant to move out of their homes, officials said.