Delhi rains: 1 dead, another injured after shanty roof collapses; water levels in Yamuna nears warning mark
A woman was killed and her daughter suffered injuries as the roof of their shanty collapsed due to heavy rains in the national capital. The heavy downpour has also resulted in rise in water levels in Yamuna, with the levels nearing the warning mark on Thursday.
A 40-year-old woman died and her daughter was injured after the roof of their shanty collapsed due to heavy rains in Delhi's Govindpuri area on Thursday evening.
A call regarding the house collapse was received at 4:45 pm and three fire tenders were rushed to the spot, according to the fire department.
"Two women got trapped under debris. One of them suffered head injury and the other fell unconscious. Both of them were rushed to AIIMS Trauma Centre for treatment," said Atul Garg, Director, Delhi Fire Service.
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Deputy Commissioner of Police (Southeast) RP Meena said that Pooja (24) and her mother, Urmila, were trapped under the debris after the roof of the first floor of their shanty collapsed. The local residents were able to rescue Pooja, who suffered minor injuries. Her mother, Urmia, however was pulled out with the help of fire brigade in an unconscious state.
Both the women were taken to the hospital, where Urmila was declared brought dead.
Water levels in Yamuna rise after heavy rains
Meanwhile, following heavy rains in the city, the water level of the Yamuna rose to 203.74 metres on Thursday, close to the warning mark of 204.50 metres.
The Delhi administration had sounded an alert in low-lying areas close to the river floodplains on Tuesday, with Haryana discharging more water into the river from the Hathnikund Barrage.
A flood alert is declared when the Yamuna crosses the "warning mark" of 204.50 meters, with the danger level being 205.33 meters.
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In view of the alert and the heavy rains lashing the city, the irrigation and flood control department have kept boats on standby and the situation is being monitored round-the-clock, an official said.
"The water level was recorded at 203.74 at the Old Railway Bridge at 8 pm. It was 203.37 meters at 10:30 am," the official said.
The water level has risen in the river due to the heavy rains in Delhi and the upper catchment area. The administration is also anticipating that the water level may rise further as there is a prediction of rains in the catchment area.
"The discharge rate at the Hathnikund Barrage peaked to 1.60 lakh cusecs on Tuesday afternoon, the highest this year so far," the official said.
One cusec is equivalent to 28.32 litres per second.
Normally, the water discharged from the barrage takes two to three days to reach the national capital.
Haryana had been releasing water from the Yumananagr-located barrage at the rate of 85,879 cusecs at 10 am on Thursday. At 8 pm, the flow rate was 25,839 cusecs. Normally, the flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage is 352 cusec, but the discharge increased following heavy rainfall in catchment areas.
In 2019, the flow rate had peaked to 8.28 lakh cusec on August 18-19, and the water level of the Yamuna had breached the danger mark.
The Delhi government had to launch evacuation and relief operations after the overflowing river submerged many low-lying areas in the city.
(With inputs from PTI)
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