Delhi schools in flood-hit areas to be closed, announces CM Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday announced that schools in flood-hit regions of the national capital would remain closed, with the region facing water-logging after the Yamuna river crossed danger levels due to increasing rains.

"All government and private schools are being closed in the areas of Delhi where water is filling up," the Chief Minister tweeted.



Reports say that the water levels at the Old Railway Bridge area of the Yamuna river crossed the 208-metre mark Wednesday night and rose to 208.48 metres by 8 am on Thursday. Levels are expected to to rise further, according to the Central Water Commission, which has marked the situation as 'extreme.'

On Wednesday, Kejriwal urged the Centre to intervene in the situation, with city police imposing Section 144 of the CrPC in flood-prone areas to prevent unlawful assembly of four or more people and public movement in groups.

"The news of flooding in the capital of the country will not send a good message to the world. Together we will have to save the people of Delhi from this situation," Kejriwal wrote in a letter to Home Minister Amit Shah.

Over the past three days the national capital has seen the local river's levels rising, with indicators showing that it shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 metres at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected.

Levels could rise further with the India Meteorological Department predicting heavy rain in Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday and Friday.