NEW DELHI: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal announced on Friday that the Okhla water treatment plant is being restarted as the water levels in the Yamuna are receding in the area.
The government had announced the closure of three water treatment plants -- Wazirabad, Chandrawal and Okhla -- due to the rising water levels in the Yamuna following days of heavy rains in Delhi and the upper catchment areas.
Due to the closure of the plants, many areas in the national capital were facing a water shortage.
"With receding water levels, we are starting Okhla water treatment (plant). (I) Am reaching there to take stock," Kejriwal tweeted.
He is also expected to visit the Wazirabad water treatment plant.
After breaching a 45-year record three days ago, water levels in the Yamuna in Delhi came down to 208.25 metres at 3 pm on Friday even as several key areas in the city were inundated.
According to Central Water Commission (CWC) data, the water level stood at 208.57 metres in the early hours of Friday and fell marginally to 208.48 metres at 5 am.
The water level in the Yamuna was 208.42 metres at 8 am, 208.38 metres at 10 am and 208.35 metres at 11 am. It went down further to 208.27 metres at 1 pm and 208.25 metres at 3 pm.
The Yamuna in Delhi swelled to 207.71 metres on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978.
Parts of Delhi receive light rainfall, adds to woes of people battling flood threat
Parts of the national capital received light rainfall on Friday afternoon, adding to the woes of the people as the city grapples with a flood-like situation following the overflowing of the Yamuna river. The rain was recorded in Laxmi Nagar areas and a few areas in east Delhi.
Other areas, including Lutyens' Delhi, witnessed a drizzle
The Regional Weather Forecast Centre (RWFC) in the national capital had tweeted around 10 am that "light intensity rain/drizzle would occur over and adjoining areas of Delhi (Jafarpur, Nazafgarh, Dwarka, Palam, IGI Airport, Ayanagar, Deramandi), NCR (Gurugram) Gohana, Sonipat (Haryana) Moradabad, Bahajoi in the next two hours."
The India Meteorological Department also forecast a generally cloudy sky with light rain in the national capital.
The maximum temperature in the city is likely to settle around 34 degrees Celsius.
Floodwaters of the overflowing Yamuna reached the entrance of the Supreme Court in Central Delhi on Friday as the regulator of the Delhi Irrigation and Flood Control Department at Indraprastha suffered damage Thursday evening.
After breaching a 45-year record three days ago, water levels in the Yamuna here came down to 208.35 metres at 11 am on Friday even as several key areas in Delhi remained inundated.
(With agencies inputs)
