Yamuna river swells to record level in Delhi; breaches 207.55 metres

New Delhi: The Yamuna in Delhi swelled to 207.55 metres on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978, government agencies said on Wednesday.

According to the Central Water Commission's (CWC) flood-monitoring portal, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge crossed the 207-metre mark at 4 am, the first time since 2013, and rose to 207.55 metres by 1 pm.

The river is likely to rise further, an official of the irrigation and flood control department said.

Delhi recorded a rapid increase in the Yamuna water level over the last three days.

It shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected.

The river had exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres on Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and a closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic.

Delhi water minister Saurabh Bharadwaj told the media that the city government was prepared to deal with the situation. "We are monitoring the situation and all possible steps are being taken," he said.