Delhi government takes measures to prevent flooding in capital city

Battling a water crisis in the national capital, the Delhi government has initiated comprehensive preparations to tackle potential flood situations and avert a recurrence of last year's challenges.

Saurabh Bharadwaj, the Minister of Delhi's Irrigation and Flood Control Department, visited the Yamuna Barrage at ITO on Tuesday to evaluate its current state. The AAP government previously claimed that this barrage was a significant factor in the severe flooding of the Yamuna, which led to extensive waterlogging and considerable inconvenience for locals.

Addressing the media, Saurabh Bharadwaj explained that last year's unprecedented rainfall and the volume of water released into the Yamuna from Haryana, unprecedented in decades, caused the flood situation.

Although the barrage falls under the jurisdiction of the Haryana government, this time, the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department has coordinated with the Haryana government to prepare for potential issues.

Bharadwaj assured that even if the same volume of water flows into the Yamuna as last year, there will be no flooding in Delhi, and the Yamuna's water will not reach the roads.

Regarding the large machines on-site used to remove accumulated silt around the barrage, Bharadwaj stated that this work has been ongoing for the past three months. A significant amount of silt around all the barrages has already been removed, and all the barrages have been opened. Some barrages that could not be opened have been cut and removed to ensure no obstruction to the water flow.

Bharadwaj also introduced a new technique to tackle the flood situation. To prevent water accumulation in the Yamuna and avoid a flood situation, the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department has conducted a new experiment called the “Pilot Cut.” In this experiment, small channels are dug from the accumulated soil in front of the barrage, extending far beyond. During this process, small islands of soil are formed between the artificial channels created in the Yamuna.

“When rainwater is released from Haryana, it will flow swiftly through these artificial channels, carrying with it the small soil islands, thereby eliminating any possibility of water stagnation and allowing the water to flow swiftly ahead. This procedure ensures that there will be no likelihood of water accumulating in the Yamuna, terminating all potential flood scenarios due to unhindered water flow,” Bharadwaj explained.

He further noted that during the last flood in the Yamuna, there were incidents of regulators breaking in some places. To prevent such situations this time, all regulators have been thoroughly repaired. The broken regulator has been replaced with a new one, and all other regulators have been adequately checked and serviced to prevent any issues or accidents in case of water inflow into the Yamuna.

All the regulators have been tested, and Bharadwaj expressed confidence that there will be no repeat of last year's incidents.