New Delhi, Aug 25 (IANS) A key bridge over the Yamuna linking the capital with its populous eastern district was shut Wednesday as the river waters rose menacingly, causing huge traffic jams.
Authorities said the Yamuna was flowing above the danger mark for the fifth consecutive day, with officials warning that its level was expected to rise further.
Fearing danger from the fast flowing river, the Old Railway Bridge was ordered closed at noon, disrupting both train and road traffic.
The closure of the bridge, the oldest over the Yamuna here, forced the diversion of traffic onto a highway linking Delhi with Uttar Pradesh, choking roads in parts of the capital.
The water level has touched 205.92 metres. ‘We are expecting the river to reach 206.14 metres by 6 p.m. today,’ an official of the Irrigation and Flood Control Department told IANS.
The river crossed the danger level of 204.8 metres late Friday.
The city has set up 10 temporary shelters along the winding river, including at Usmanpur, Badarpur Khadar, ISBT Bridge, Shakarpur, Akshardham Temple and Okhla to shelter people uprooted by the overflowing Yamuna.
‘We are monitoring the water levels and making frequent trips to the river,’ the official said.
More than 60 boats along with divers and a team of the disaster management force have been deployed near the river bank, the official said.
The release of water from the Hathnikund barrage upstream in Haryana has swollen the Yamuna.
