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The
river's levels were at their highest in 45 years this week,
following unusually heavy rainfall in New Delhi and hilly
northern states, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people
during the last two days, as the river breached its banks.
Roads around the historic Red Fort were flooded, with trucks and
buses abandoned in several places, leaving just their
windshields and roofs showing above the water, in video images
from Reuters partner ANI.
"To prevent water from flowing into the city, we are trying to
create a dam," said Saurabh Bharadwaj, Delhi's flood control and
irrigation minister.
Sacks would be stacked up to achieve this, he added, while
authorities were renting a new regulator to be installed once
the flow of water is brought under control.
The work would take four or five hours more, Delhi Chief
Minister Arvind Kejriwal estimated after a visit to the site.
Metro train services were delayed by up to 20 minutes, commuters
said.
Government officials said the regulator, located near a key
metro station, was in a state of "prolonged disrepair" and
collapsed at about 7 p.m. (1330 GMT) on Thursday, at a time when
the river was in spate.
Authorities are also turning to national disaster response
officials and the army for help in the repair work, Kejriwal had
said on Twitter earlier.
The roads around the Rajghat memorial to India's apostle of
non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi, were inundated, with some water
flowing into the memorial area as well.
Also flooded were several private and government offices,
including the police headquarters, in the city's ITO area.
(Reporting by Sakshi Dayal; Additional reporting by Tanvi Mehta
and Shivam Patel; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Clarence
Fernandez)
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