Delhi Floods: Rajghat areas flooded; govt, LG Saxena butt heads over broken regulator

Even as a raging Yamuna showed signs of calming down, water from the swollen river reached the entrance of the Supreme Court with the busy ITO stretch and Rajghat still submerged due to a damaged water regulator.

As the regulator managed by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department made the waterlogging worse, the Army was pressed in to contain the damage.

The regulator installed near the Indraprastha bus stand and the WHO Building on Drain No 12 was being repaired with sandbags, braces, boulders.

Delhi Cabinet minister Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged that the regulator was damaged because of the delay in the deployment of the NDRF, even as Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena urged him not to start a blame game.

After breaching a 45-year record three days ago, water levels in the Yamuna here came down to 208.25 metres at 3pm on Friday even as several key areas in Delhi remain inundated.

The water level in the river on Thursday started rising after staying stable for three hours and reached 208.66 metres by 7 pm, three metres above the danger mark of 205.33 metres.

The water level in Yamuna at 4 pm Friday stood at 208.23 metre.

The Indraprastha water regulator was breached due to a strong current in the river and is likely to be repaired within three-four hours, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said earlier in the day during his visit to the site, which was also visited by Saxena.

The flow of water from the river was so strong that it breached the regulator and entered the city. Even though the water level in the Yamuna is receding, the damaged regulator led the excess water in at ITO and nearby areas, Kejriwal told PTI video.

"Labourers and engineers worked overnight to create a mud wall to stop the water. The Army and the NDRF have also joined the operation, so I believe we will be able to stop the water in the next three-four hours," he said.

The CM said the Rajghat area was flooded due to the backflow of a drain in the area. Water from a bellowing Yamuna reached the entrance of the Supreme Court in central Delhi on Friday, a few metres away from the iconic India Gate.

As roads continue to turn into little rivers and Yamuna unrelenting in its fury, the rescue teams are evacuating those stuck in flooded areas.

More than 60 students from Blind School in Kingsway Camp in northwest Delhi were evacuated to a safer location by a team of Delhi Police after floodwaters entered its premises.

The NDRF team, using boats, rescued 60 dogs and 50 cows that were stuck at an animal shelter home in Mayur Vihar due to inundation.

The flood-like situation in Delhi has also inundated crematoriums in the vicinity of the Yamuna.Crematoriums at Nigambodh Ghat, Geeta Colony, Wazirabad and Sarai Kale Khan have been closed in view of the flooding in various parts of Delhi due to flooding, Mayor Shelly Oberoi said on Friday.

Bharadwaj, who is the minister of Irrigation and Flood Control, in presence of Saxena, during the inspection, alleged that despite reaching out to the officers to deploy NDRF and fix the damaged water regulator Thursday night, "there was no response from them."

"We wrote to the Chief Secretary on Whatsapp group to call NDRF else floodwaters might enter into sensitive areas of Delhi. We also asked the DM. But our messages were ignored last night," Bharadwaj alleged.

Responding to the Delhi Minister, the LG said, "This is the time for teamwork, not blaming each other. I could say a lot of things too, but it's not necessary at the moment." Bharadwaj said he requested Divisional Commissioner Ashwani Kumar too on Thursday night for the deployment of the NDRF, but in vain.

"Ashwani Kumar is the Divisional Commissioner and NDRF was not called at night even after repeated requests from a Minister. Will they do anything because of the ordinance?" he asked.

Later in a rebuttal, Raj Niwas sources said the regulator required urgent engineering solutions, the responsibility for which lay with the Irrigation & Flood Control Department and DJB – both under the Kejriwal government and under Minister-in charge Saurabh Bharadwaj.

"I&FC and DJB have full-fledged engineering wings of their own having several officers from level of Chief Engineer up to Junior Engineers, however, they could not carry out the necessary works despite a lapse of more than 12 hours," the sources said.

The sources also said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is mandated to carry out relief and rescue operations during disasters, something it has been doing in Delhi since the flood started. "The NDRF is NOT responsible for carrying out regular engineering works." Traffic was curbed because of waterlogging on Vikas Marg and adjoining areas.

The Delhi Traffic Police closed all traffic movement in both directions on Vikas Marg, with no vehicles allowed from Laxmi Nagar T-point to A point (ITO) and vice-versa.

Vikas Marg, which is one of the main stretches connecting east and Central Delhi, saw commuters getting stuck for hours in traffic jams before the curbs were put in.

The Delhi Traffic Police has put out an alert urging people to plan their journeys in view of the flood-like situation in many parts of the city.

Over 4,500 traffic personnel have been deployed on the ground in affected areas of Delhi to decongest traffic and help navigate commuters, police said, adding, the traffic restrictions will be removed depending on how fast the water recedes.

Due to overflow of drain water, vehicular movement has also been restricted on the Mahatma Gandhi Marg on both carriageways – from Sarai Kale Khan towards Rajghat and vice-versa.