Delhi civic body steps up drive to clear floodwaters, curb disease

As the Yamuna waters surged and gushed into localities along the course of the river in the city, Delhi Mayor Raja Iqbal Singh on Friday directed municipal officials to step up drainage efforts to restore normalcy in the city. He visited Haqiqat Nagar in Mukherjee Nagar ward, Burari, and other flood-hit areas to assess the situation on the ground.

During his visit, the Mayor instructed officials to deploy additional pumps for faster clearance of floodwater and to step up fogging to prevent disease outbreaks.

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Iqbal appealed to the residents not to panic, assuring them that municipal teams and disaster management personnel are working diligently. In case of any emergency, citizens can contact the helpline numbers of the MCD.

Areas along the Yamuna remained inundated even as the river level began to stabilise, falling from 207.48 metres at 6 a.m. on Thursday to 207.31 metres by 4 p.m. on Friday. Over the past three days, widespread evacuation drives have been carried out in Old Usmanpur, Garhi Mendu, Yamuna Bazar, and Ladakh Budh Vihar near Civil Lines, as well as localities around Majnu ka Tilla, Nigambodh Ghat, Mayur Vihar and Geeta Colony floodplains, Madanpur Khadar, and Jaitpur.

Earlier this week, the Yamuna crossed the evacuation mark of 206 metres for the first time this monsoon, following heavy rainfall in the upper Himalayan catchments. This led to massive discharges of over three lakh cusecs from the Hathnikund Barrage, compounded by continued showers in the city.