Yamuna river crosses danger mark again; Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash tells officials to be 'proactive'

New Delhi: The water level of the Yamuna river on Tuesday crossed the danger mark and is expected to rise further, prompting authorities to issue directions to take appropriate measures to avoid flood-like situation in Delhi. Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash on Tuesday held an emergency meeting with top officers of departments concerned and directed them to be “proactive” in taking measures for evacuation and providing relief to the people living in the low-lying areas, an official said. According to the East Delhi district administration, the water level of the Yamuna river reached 205.08 metres on Tuesday, while its danger mark is 204.83 metres. Prakash directed that all the staff in the field should be on duty despite being 15 August, a national holiday. [caption id=“attachment_4842121” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of the Yamuna river. PTI[/caption] The official said as Haryana has released nearly 1.74 lakh cusecs water from Hathinikund barrage, Yamuna’s water level is expected to rise further in the next one or two days. In July, the water level of the Yamuna river had crossed the danger mark, prompting authorities to evacuate people living in the low-lying areas. “The chief secretary has directed officials to repeat the same exercise and necessary precautionary which they had taken during the period of 28 to 31 July,” the official said. Prakash also issued directions to ensure that tentage and food are available at all the locations for the displaced persons from Wednesday. He directed all stakeholders to depute their staffers at the central control room round-the-clock.