Limit flow from Haryana, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal writes to Union minister Amit Shah

NEW DELHI: With water level in the Yamuna breaking all past records and rising dangerously, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday and sought the Centre's intervention to impress upon Haryana to release controlled amounts of water from Hathnikund Barrage to prevent further flooding in the capital.
Kejriwal asserted that Delhi did not witness heavy rain in the last three days and the Yamuna was surging only due to the large volumes of water being released from Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana's Yamuna Nagar area."Delhi has to host the G20 summit soon, and the host city being flooded itself won't send a good message to the world," the chief minister said in the letter.
"Together we all have to save the people of Delhi from this situation," he added.
The chief minister called an emergency meeting of all ministers and senior officials of all departments concerned on Wednesday evening to review the situation and take necessary steps to rescue people and mitigate the inconveniences faced by people.
Addressing a press conference after the meeting, Kejriwal said he had also spoken to Union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat who assured that the water being released from Himachal Pradesh had decreased slightly and its effect would be felt in Delhi soon.
"He also informed me that Hathnikund does not have a reservoir. It is just a barrage and there is no provision to stop the flow of water. Yesterday, a lot of water was released from Hathnikund and its effect will be felt in Delhi after 24 hours. For the time being, we are expecting the water levels in the river to rise further," Kejriwal said.
The chief minister said that officials had been directed to safely evacuate residents from vulnerable low-lying areas and provide every possible facility at relief centres. "If required, schools will be converted into temporary relief camps to accommodate affected people," he added.
Kejriwal also expressed his gratitude to numerous NGOs and gurudwaras that have stepped forward to support the relief efforts undertaken by the Delhi government.
The chief minister also urged people to avoid going to the low-lying areas to click selfies and avoid such misadventure.
Minister Atishi said the Delhi government had arranged 50 boats to provide immediate relief to people in the flood-affected areas. "All these boats have been deployed at a distance of two kilometres each from Palla to Okhla Barrage," she said.