Five tractors are stationed on the bed of a dry Yamuna. Ten workers and their supervisors stand around as the tractor beds are filled with sludge and sand. Some are placing sandbags, whose count they have lost track of, along the banks to make sure that when the river is alive again in around a month, the embankment is not breached.
Nearly a year after the water level of the Yamuna breached the 208-metre mark to give way to the worst-ever recorded flood in 45 years in Delhi, since 1978, work to desilt the area around the ITO Barrage is on at a frenetic pace. .
Last year’s floods forced more than 25,000 people to leave their homes along the floodplains and move to relief camps. Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla water treatment plants were shut and Delhi faced a serious drinking water shortage. Areas near ITO, Ring Road, Kashmere Gate, Old Delhi, Civil Lines, and East Delhi were inundated within a day; water surrounded the Red Fort and even reached the doorstep of the Supreme Court. In the middle of all this was the ITO Barrage with five jammed gates which the Indian Navy and its divers opened after a month-long operation.
Among other important measures taken is the construction of bunds along with raising the height of embankments. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
The Delhi government’s Irrigation and Flood Control Department started work in the area nearly two months ago to make sure there is no repeat of last year. “Before the onset of monsoon, all flood-preventive measures will be completed,” said Mukesh Kumar, Chief Engineer at the Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) Department, Delhi.
In April, I&FC minister Saurabh Bharadwaj wrote to Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini to direct Haryana Irrigation Department officers to open all ITO barrage gates. The barrage is under the ownership of the Haryana government.
A senior government official said the gates have been opened.
Among other important measures taken is the construction of bunds along with raising the height of embankments.
But that’s not all. The department has another worry on its hands — plateaus have formed on the riverbed because of the dumping of debris and discarded construction material. An official said agencies working on the Regional Rapid Transit System (between Sarai Kale Khan and Meerut) and Barapullah Flyover extension have left behind sheet piles, pile caps, and debris that can’t be eroded by water, which means the movement of water through the barrage slows down.
“We are using the technique of pilot cuts and cutting through the plateaus to ensure water passes through it and the debris erodes,” the official said.
Pilot channels are assisted cut-offs created to divert the flow of water. (Express Photo by Tashi Tobgyal)
Pilot channels are assisted cut-offs created to divert the flow of water. They can prevent debris from accumulating, providing an alternative channel for the flow of water to prevent a flood-like situation.
Similar measures are being taken at Signature Bridge, Vasudev Ghat along the Yamuna, the official added.
An August 2023 probe panel report by the Haryana government had identified systemic encroachments on floodplains as a major cause for the four gates failing to open, causing flooding. The Haryana government suspended a chief engineer-level officer of the state irrigation department posted in Delhi.
Haryana government officials had said flooding in Delhi occurred due to encroachment of floodplains up to ITO due to which water overflowed to Ring Road. Due to the “non-opening of four gates” of the barrage near ITO, excess water could not be cleared in time causing massive waterlogging and floods, the report said.
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