Rain fury: Yamuna recedes after crossing danger mark; water from Pong, Bhakra dams inundate parts of Punjab

As several states in north India continues to reel under monsoon mayhem, the water level in Yamuna followed a downward trend Wednesday morning after the river crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres for a brief period on Tuesday. Punjab too is facing the brunt of excess rain after the release of water from Pong and the Bhakra dams inundated several areas in the state.

The Yamuna's water level in Delhi crossed the danger mark of 205.33 metres on Tuesday following torrential rain in the river's upper catchment areas over the past two days. However, Central Water Commission's (CWC) said the water level at the Old Railway Bridge stood at 205.14 metres at 8 am on Wednesday.

It had crossed the warning mark of 204.5 metres at 3 pm on Tuesday and rapidly rose to 205.39 metres at 10 pm. "However, the river may not swell to the evacuation level of 206.00 metres in Delhi unless the hilly region receives more rain," he said.

The flow rate at the Hathnikund barrage in Haryana's Yamunanagar district stood around 27,000 cusecs at 9 pm -- considered moderate during the monsoon season. The national capital faced flooding last month after heavy rainfall caused Yamuna to swell to a record 208.66 metres on July 13.

Punjab

The excess inflow of water into the Pong and Bhakra dams has resulted in flood situations in several villages near the Beas river in Punjab's Hoshiarpur district and the Sutlej river in the Rupnagar district.

Officials are monitoring the situation and many villagers have already been evacuated to safety in Gurdaspur. People residing in Amritsar, Hoshiarpur, Kapurthala and Tarn Taran districts have been urged not to venture near the Beas. 

The Bhakra dam on the Sutlej and the Pong dam on the Beas -- both in Himachal Pradesh -- are brimming after heavy rain in their respective catchment areas.

In Hoshiarpur, several farmlands in the Talwara, Hajipur, Dasuya, Tanda and Mukerian villages were flooded due to water discharge from the Pong dam reservoir. Deputy Commissioner Komal Mittal said the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), State Disaster Response Force and non-government organisations are being enlisted for relief operations.

Mittal said the evacuation work in about 15 villages is still underway and around 1,000 people have been sent to relief camps. The relief camps have been set up at Bhangala, Atalgarh, Sariana, Gera, Motka, Mehtabpur and Harse Mansar villages.

Officials said the inflow in Pong reservoir is 1.42 lakh cusecs and the water is being discharged in a controlled manner. While the water level in Pong Dam is currently at 1,399.65 feet, it is 1,677 feet at Bhakra.

In the Rupnagar district, about half a dozen villages, including Bela Dhyani, Bhanam, and Palasi in the Nangal area, were inundated following the release of excess water from the Bhakra dam.