The Delhi government on Thursday banned the entry of heavy goods vehicles, except those carrying essentials, in the city from four border entry points as a precautionary measure due to rising waters of the Yamuna even as 16 NDRF teams were deployed to tackle the floods which also caused major traffic chaos in the Capital.
Delhi Transport minister Kailash Gahlot said, “Entry of Heavy Goods Vehicles has been banned from Singhu Border, Badarpur Border, Loni Border and Chilla Border as a precautionary measure in view of abnormally rising water level of Yamuna River.”
“On the other hand, interstate buses coming from Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand will stop at Singhu border instead of going to ISBT Kashmere Gate,” Gahlot said in a tweet in Hindi.
There is no restriction on vehicles carrying essential services such as food and petroleum products, he added.
Meanwhile, a total of 16 NDRF teams have been deployed in Delhi to tackle the floods caused by the overflowing Yamuna. Three teams each have been deployed in east and northeast Delhi, five in southeast Delhi, four in the central region and one in Shahdara area of the national capital, National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Deputy Inspector General Mohsen Shahedi said.
A total of six districts in Delhi have been affected by the floods, he said.
“As there has been minimum rain in Delhi in the last two days, we hope the situation will stabilise now and by tomorrow morning things are expected to be better,” he said.
He said water gushed in low-lying areas around the Yamuna river in the city after 4-5 days of heavy rains in the higher regions and nearby locations of Delhi.
The NDRF alone has evacuated about 1,000 people and rescued around 3,500 locals. Volunteers, the district administrations and the police are also evacuating those affected.
The level of water has come down from 3.5 lakh cusecs to 6,300 cusecs and this will further stabilise by Friday. As per latest inputs, the Yamuna is flowing at the level of 208.66 metres, he said.
“Although there is prediction of rains in Delhi and Uttarakhand, we hope the situation to be normal in the coming days. There is nothing to worry and we would appeal to people to remain alert and not venture near the flood areas,” Shahedi said. The NDRF teams are equipped with inflatable boats, ropes and other rescue equipment. The central contingency force has deployed around 75 teams across the country keeping in mind monsoon-related disasters with 11 teams each in Himachal Pradesh and Punjab, and nine in Haryana.
The Delhi Traffic Police on Thursday also issued an advisory on the restrictions and regulation of vehicular movement in place owing to rising water level of the Yamuna river as harried commuters struggled to reach their destinations.
Closure of roads due to the overflowing Yamuna also hit traffic in several parts of the city, especially east Delhi, where passengers were stuck for hours.
According to the advisory, the traffic movement has been impaired on Mahatma Gandhi Marg between IP flyover and Chandgi Ram Akhara, Mahatma Gandhi Marg between Kalighat Mandir and Delhi Secretariat, and Outer Ring Road between Wazirabad Bridge and Chandgi Ram Akhara. Commuters are advised to avoid the roads and plan their journey accordingly, it said.
Non-destined commercial vehicles will not be allowed to enter Delhi and will be diverted to the Eastern and Western Peripheral Expressway. The commercial vehicles will also be diverted from Mukarba Chowk. No commercial vehicles will be allowed between Mukarba Chowk and Wazirabad Bridge, the advisory stated.