The wave of chaos and destruction across the national capital continued on Thursday as intermittent rains and the swelling Yamuna River left vast low-lying areas submerged. Even a relief camp was inundated, while key roads developed craters and floodwaters gushed to several homes and areas close to the Delhi Secretariat.
The Yamuna’s water level, which had touched 207.47 meters, remained stable between 2 am and 6 am, neither rising nor receding, leaving thousands struggling with disrupted lives.
In East Delhi’s Mayur Vihar, some relief camps set up for displaced families are now underwater, forcing residents to seek shelter elsewhere.
In Alipur, a section of a flyover near NH-44 collapsed after heavy rainfall, creating a massive crater that swallowed a three-wheeler and left its driver injured.
The floodwaters have also reached the Delhi Secretariat, inundating the underpass on the road adjacent to the Yamuna floodplains. As a result, one of the roads leading to the Delhi Secretariat has been shut down. Suction pipes have been deployed to drain the accumulated water, but the area remains submerged.
Delhi’s Swaminarayan Temple now appears to rise from a sea of muddy water. Nearby, the newly constructed footover bridge connecting the temple to the Ring Road is no longer visible, completely engulfed by the rising river.
The upscale Civil Lines area was hit hard, with several stately bungalows and residential roads left inundated. Major stretches, including Kashmere Gate and ITO, along with several other busy localities, also remained waterlogged on Thursday morning.
At Nigambodh Ghat, the city’s largest cremation ground, cremations were suspended after floodwaters entered the premises, officials confirmed on Wednesday. Floodwaters also reached the Geeta Colony crematorium, forcing people to perform last rites on the adjacent footpath.
More than 2,000 people were evacuated from Jharoda Kalan and parts of Najafgarh after a 50-foot embankment of the Mungeshpur drain gave way, flooding several low-lying areas in southwest Delhi.
Meanwhile, the city is bracing for more rain under overcast skies. The India Meteorological Department (IMD), which had initially issued red and orange alerts for heavy to very heavy rainfall, later downgraded its warning to a yellow alert.
The unusually heavy showers have already pushed Delhi’s seasonal rainfall past the 1,000 mm mark, well above the annual average of 774 mm, typically reached by August.
Amid the flooding, one bright spot emerged: the city’s air quality improved to the ‘satisfactory’ category, with an Air Quality Index (AQI) of 57.
Source: India Today