Rivers of sorrow continue to devastate U.P. (The Hindu 20 Aug. 2011)

Special Correspondent

Over 3 lakh people affected, thousands homeless: Officials




Nature's fury: A Vrindavan road eroded by the Yamuna on Friday. — Photo: PTI


With the Ghagra, Sharda, Saryu and Ganga causing havoc following heavy and widespread rainfall, there has been no respite from floods in Uttar Pradesh. The situation deteriorated on Friday, leaving a vast trail of death and destruction. Over 70 people have lost their lives since August 1, the deaths being caused by floods and heavy rain.

According to an official spokesperson, over three lakh people in 14 districts have been affected by floods and thousands rendered homeless, with 302 villages in 26 tehsils being cut off from the adjoining areas.

Bahraich, Faizabad, Gonda, Lakhimpur Kheri, Pilibhit, Sitapur and Ballia districts have borne the brunt of the onslaught by the swollen rivers. Over 1,500 houses have been completely destroyed and 728 others partially in the catchment areas followed by the floods. About 37,000 hectare agricultural area has been consumed by the flood waters.

In Gonda district, where the rampaging Ghagra swept away 32 villages in the Karnailganj tehsil and 24 villages in Tarabganj tehsil, about 15 villages have been marooned, forcing the people to tide across the flood waters in a bid to reach to safer places. The number of flood-hit people in Gonda district was 97,412 as per the information available from the office of the Lucknow Relief Commissioner. The Ghagra has also caused havoc in neighbouring Bahraich district, where nearly 95,000 people in 65 villages in Nanpara, Mahsi and Kaisarganj tehsils have been hit. Apart from the rainfall, the Ghagra's level downstream rose after water was released from the Banbasa barrage upstream on the India-Nepal border.

The turbulent Sharda was another river in spate. It flows through Pilibhit and Lakhimpur Kheri districts, and though the Sharda was flowing below the danger mark at Pallia Bridge and Sharda barrage in Kheri district, flood waters have entered four villages in the past 24 hours. But with the river flowing above the danger mark upstream in Pilibhit district's Puranpur tehsil, 16 villages have been hit by floods in the last 24 hours. The number of flood-hit villages in the district was 73, affecting a population of about 54,000.

Flood waters from the Ghagra entered 82 villages in Laharpur and Biswan tehsils of Sitapur district amid reports of casualties. The Ganga was flowing above the danger level in Ballia district, with 165 villages partially affected.

The official spokesperson said 8,631 flood-hit people were evacuated till Friday and over 4,500 affected present in the relief camps. Over 10,000 cows, goats and buffaloes have also been evacuated. A sum of Rs.6 crore has been allotted to the flood-hit districts for relief and rehabilitation measures.

Rain lashes Uttarakhand

PTI reports from New Delhi:

Heavy showers lashed Uttarakhand on Friday as the monsoon continued to disrupt normal life in North India. Sixty people have died so far in various rain-related incidents in the hill State.

After a one-day break, incessant rain lashed Uttarakhand once again, paralysing normal life and hampering power generation. A red alert has already been sounded in the State, where heavy rain triggered landslides and floods blocking roads and forcing suspension of the Char Dham Yatra for a week.

The Yamuna, meanwhile, continued to flow above the danger mark for the third consecutive day, posing flood threat to low-lying areas in the national Capital.

In Punjab and Haryana, the maximum temperature in most parts settled a few notches below normal following rain at few places.

In neighbouring Rajasthan, a few places recorded light rain.

Yamuna level goes down (The Hindu 19 August 2011)

The threat of Yamuna flooding the low-lying areas has bated for now. On Thursday, the level of water fell to 205.58 m and was expected to go down further by midnight.
Officials of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department said the level has been declining with the reduction in the water released from the Hathnikund barrage.
An official said with the release being as low as 32,700 cusecs, the level is expected to fall to 205.70 m by midnight.
“The trend will continue and we no longer expect the river to rise to 206 m, instead with the discharge from Haryana on the decline, the level will fall further,” said an official.
Evacuation of people from the low-lying areas and from near the floodplains, however, is still being continued as part of the precautionary measures, said the official.

Yamuna level close to danger mark (The Hindu 18 August 2011)

As water level of the Yamuna reached close to the danger mark on Wednesday, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit and Delhi Revenue Minister A.K. Walia took stock of preparations to tackle the expected flood.
Water levels in the river have been increasing on account of heavy discharge of water from Hathinikund since Tuesday.
On Wednesday the water level touched 205.8 metres at 8 p.m., which is above the danger mark of 204.83 metres. Around 6, 22,000 cusecs of water was released from Hathinikund on Tuesday, resulting in a serious flood-like situation in Delhi.
Officials of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department said to meet the challenge of the expected flood all efforts are being made to ensure there is no threat to life and loss of property. “At the meeting on Wednesday Ms. Dikshit instructed the concerned agencies to make coordinated efforts of relief and ensure that there is no loss of life and property,” said an official.
The Chief Minister later said all arrangements are in place and the employees of concerned departments have been deployed in three shifts to remain available for relief services 24 hours.
Arrangements: “As per the forecast the level of the river is expected to touch 206 metres, after which it might start declining as the discharge has already begun reducing and this trend is likely to continue. The discharge from Hathinikund at 8 a.m. on Wednesday was 3,83,000 cusec and 3,57,000 at 9 a.m., it further fell to 1,88,000 cusec at 3.30 p.m.,” the official said

Flood threat looms large as Yamuna rises (The Hindu 17 August 2011)

Fears of a heavy flood are back to haunt the Capital as a large quantum of water released from Haryana is expected to reach the city over the next 40 hours. The water level in the rain-fed Yamuna has been rising over the past 48 hours and has come close to the warning mark.
On Tuesday, Delhi Revenue Minister Dr. A. K. Walia confirmed that a large quantity of water has been released from Hathini Kund in Haryana which is likely to cause a “serious flood-like situation”. The Government has begun the process of issuing warning and setting up tents to accommodate the people who will be evacuated from the affected areas.
Heavy rain in the upper reaches of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh has caused the river to swell and at 6 p.m. the river was flowing at 203.58 mts., a little below the danger mark of 204.83 mts.
According to the Delhi Government officials, water discharge from Hathini Kund has progressively increased through the day beginning at around 2,19,649 cusec and going up to 6,41,462 cusec at about 6 p.m. This is the fourth year in a row since 2008 when the city has to tackle high floods.
Gearing up to meet the flood-threat, the Government has begun issuing warnings to people settled along the riverbed and low-lying areas and will soon begin work of evacuation.
Dr. Walia chaired a meeting of all the departments concerned to take stock of the preparations. “The Minister was apprised that warnings are being issued in the low-lying areas and preparations for evacuation are being made. The Irrigation and Flood Control department has begun the process of creating safe zones for the residents who will be evacuated,” said an official.
Dr. Walia said the river is expected to cross the danger level and may touch 206.0 mts. resulting in floods. In 1978, the level reached 207.49 mts. (the highest so far) and in 1998 it touched 206.92 mtrs.
Officials pointed out that the discharge of around 6,22,000 cusec of water will result in a situation where the Yamuna bed, which is in between the left marginal and right marginal bund area and meant to hold additional water during monsoons, will get flooded.
“Irrigation and Flood Department control rooms are also working all along the marginal bunds on both sides of Yamuna and are ready with men and material to address any eventuality or any kind of breach,” said an official.
Deputy Commissioners of North-East, North, Central, East, South and North-West have been alerted to get the low-lying areas along the river bed evacuated. Necessary rehabilitation arrangements like proper tents, food, drinking water, medical facilities and sanitation will be arranged by the DCs concerned, the official added.
Tents are being pitched at Usmanpur, Garhi Mandu, Badarpur Khadar, ISBT Bridge, Shastri Park (Red Light), Old Yamuna Bridge (North Side), Opposite Chilla Gaon including DND, Chilla, Mayur Vihar-I, Opposite Shakarpur Thana, Near Akshardham Temple, Old Yamuna Bridge (South Side), Shamshan Ghat Geeta Colony, Thokar 19 & 20, Okhla, Batla House, Jamna Bazar and Jagatpur.
Sixteen boats from the Boat Club [DC (East)] and 40 boats of Irrigation and Flood Control Department are ready to be pressed into service.
There are also 55 divers/boatmen to help in rescue operations.

Protests against move to build bridge over Yamuna (The Hindu 12 August 2011)

Activists campaigning to save the Yamuna are up in arms against the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation's announcement to construct another bridge across the river.
Non-government organisation, Yamuna Jiye Abhiyan, has shot off a letter to Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Tejendra Khanna complaining that the DMRC has been violating rules and has not sought mandatory clearances for the new project.
The YJA is protesting against the construction of the “pseudo bridge” that is part of the Mukandpur-Yamuna Vihar corridor under the Phase-III expansion plans of the metro.
The DMRC issued a notice inviting tender on July 4 for a new pseudo bridge-cum-road over the river Yamuna, according to YJA convenor Manoj Misra.
The proposed bridge is 83 m downstream of the existing Hazrat Nizamuddin bridge-cum-road.
YJA claims that the proposed bridge is in violation of the Delhi Development Authority Act and has no approval from the Delhi Urban Arts Commission as well. “The reason why we say so is because we are aware that such a bridge is not provided for in the approved zonal plan for zone O (it violates the DDA Act), there has been no approval for such a bridge by the DUAC,” the YJA has written to the Lieutenant-Governor.
The NGO has alleged that there has been no prior environmental impact assessment of the construction of such a bridge on the river system in the only remaining relatively secure zone of the river. “The proposal has to our best knowledge not yet been assessed by the Yamuna Standing Committee and no prior permission has been taken from the Yamuna River Development Authority.”
Seeking a ban on the construction of the pseudo bridge at the designated spot, YJA has claimed that sub zone 7 of the river, is the only secure flood plain in the 22 km of the river, where flood waters spread from end to end and recharge the city's aquifers.

“Haryana withholding Delhi's share of water” (The Hindu 12 August 2011)

Delhi Jal Board complains to Upper Yamuna River Board
The Delhi Jal Board has shot off a letter to the Upper Yamuna River Board complaining that it is not receiving its full share of water from Haryana. The Jal Board has also sought a meeting on the issue of Haryana withholding Delhi's share of water.
The DJB has already written to Haryana, asking the authorities to ensure that the city gets its required quantum of water. However, with no let-up in sight, and the city suffering a water shortage for the past four weeks, the DJB has now sought the intervention of the Upper Yamuna River Board. According to Jal Board officials, water levels in the Munak canal have been fluctuating and as a result there has been shortage of raw water at Haiderpur water treatment plant.
The production of water at the WTP has been affected adversely and there has been shortage of about 10 to 20 MGD at the Haiderpur WTP. According to sources, water from the canal is being diverted to paddy fields since there has been less rainfall in Haryana. DJB officials said the command of the Haiderpur plant has been facing shortage of water supply. The major areas affected include all of South Delhi under the command of the Deer Park Reservoir such as Vasant Kunj, Munirka, Jawaharlal Nehru University, Indian Institute of Technology, Green Park, Safdurjung Enclave, Mehrauli, Kishangarh, R. K. Puram and areas in North Delhi and West Delhi such as parts of Rohini, Mangolpuri, Sultanpuri, Paschim Vihar, Pitampura, Ashok Vihar, Lawrence Road, Alipur, Janakpuri and Sagarpur.
“The DJB has been taking up this matter continuously with the Haryana authorities, but they have not been able to stabilise the canal at optimum level. It is apparently because of pressure for supplying more water to the paddy areas in Haryana,” said sources.
• ‘Capital suffering a water shortage for the past four weeks'
• ‘Shortage of raw water at Haiderpur water treatment plant'

दिल्ली में उफान पर यमुना, बाढ़ का खतरा (Amar Ujala 17 August 2011)

दिल्ली में यमुना का जलस्तर खतरे के निशान के नजदीक पहुंच गया। इस वजह से अधिकारियों ने यमुना से सटे निचले इलाकों को खाली करा लिया है। हरियाणा के हथिनीकुण्ड बैराज से पानी छोड़े जाने के कारण यह स्थिति आई है।

पूर्वी दिल्ली स्थित गांधीनगर केंद्रीय नियंत्रण कक्ष के एक अधिकारी ने बताया कि जल स्तर 204.64 मीटर तक पहुंच गया है और इसके 204.83 मीटर तक पहुंचने की आशंका है। हम लोगों ने आपातकालीन योजनाएं तैयार कर रखी हैं।

हथिनीकुण्ड बैराज से मंगलवार को 6,22000 क्युसेक पानी छोड़ा गया था जिससे दिल्ली में बाढ़ जैसी स्थिति उत्पन्न हो गई है। दिल्ली के राजस्व मंत्री ए. के. वालिया ने मंगलवार को बताया कि सिंचाईं और बाढ़ नियंत्रण विभाग के नियंत्रण कक्ष यमुना के दोनों तरफ कार्य कर रहे हैं। बाढ़ से निपटने के लिए 56 नौकाएं और पम्प लगाए गए हैं।