New Delhi: Parts of northwest Delhi experienced flooding on Thursday following a breach in a canal that supplies water from a neighboring state, with ongoing repair efforts to mitigate the impact, according to a senior local official’s social media update.
Residents of the capital have endured a series of extreme weather events in recent months, ranging from scorching temperatures to floods and heavy rainfall that led to a roof collapse at the city’s airport.
“Today (in the) early morning there has been a breach in one of the sub-branches of Munak Canal … Water has been diverted to the other sub-branch of the canal,” stated Delhi Water Minister Atishi in a social media post.
Visuals from ANI news agency showed residents wading through knee-deep muddy waters in the Bawana district of northwest Delhi, illustrating the extent of the flooding.
The Munak canal, located on the Yamuna river near Delhi’s northwestern border with Haryana, is managed by the state of Haryana. No casualties have been reported thus far from the latest flooding incident.
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Recent severe water shortages in Delhi followed the hottest summer on record, prompting Atishi to stage a brief hunger strike to advocate for increased water supply to the city.
Delhi primarily relies on the Yamuna river for its water supply, which overflowed a year ago due to heavy rains.
Meanwhile, multiple rivers in Bihar, eastern India, are nearing flood levels as water from neighboring Nepal flows downstream. Earlier this week, parts of Nepal also experienced flooding.
Heavy rainfall in Assam, in India’s east, triggered flash floods in recent weeks, claiming the lives of at least 79 people and displacing thousands.
