The Delhi government has set up 16 control rooms, including the central control room, across the national capital to constantly monitor Yamuna water levels, Revenue Minister Atishi said on Thursday.

Atishi released the "Flood Control Order 2023" for the Flood and Irrigation Control Department and the Public Works Department (PWD), according to an official statement.

The order includes all essential information related to flood control machinery, operational plans, water drainage systems, river embankments, regulators, pumping stations and other relevant details, it said.

The minister said this year, 16 control rooms, including the central control room, have been established by the city government to constantly monitor flood-prone areas, including the water levels of the Yamuna river.

She asked the officials to keep the departments concerned on high alert and be prepared to handle emergencies during the monsoon.

She emphasised the need for all nodal agencies to work together to prevent issues like waterlogging or floods during this time of the year, the statement said.

Regarding preparations for potential floods due to the rise in Yamuna water levels, Atishi directed the officials to check and ensure the readiness of all tools used in relief and rescue operations, and to establish solid arrangements for safely relocating people to secure locations during flood-like situations, it said.

She instructed the officials to keep their teams on alert to handle emergencies during the monsoon so that the people of Delhi do not face any problems.

She also emphasised the need for the Public Works Department and other departments to ensure that there is no waterlogging in Delhi during the rainy season. This includes conducting inspections of all permanent pump houses and deploying mobile pumps in waterlogged areas, the statement said.

In Delhi, the PWD has installed 128 pump houses, which have over 700 pumps.

Eleven pump houses are fully automatic and start operating automatically as the water level rises, using sensors, the statement added.

During the monsoon season, the PWD will also deploy its mobile pump units if necessary. The desilting work by the PWD is almost complete and will be repeated after the monsoon season, it said.

The PWD's central control room will monitor the serious waterlogging areas through 24-hour CCTV surveillance, the statement said.

In addition to this, the department will establish control rooms at 10 other locations, it added.

People can register waterlogging-related complaints, for which the PWD will issue a helpline number, the statement said.

The department has marked 165 areas with waterlogging problems and preparations are underway to address their needs and tackle waterlogging issues, it added.

In Delhi, under the Irrigation and Flood Control Department, there are a total of 57 drains with a combined length of approximately 382 kilometers. To clean these drains, 53 departmental machines have been deployed, the statement said.

As of June 15, a total of 7,86,497 metric tonnes of desilting work has been completed by the Irrigation and Flood Control Department.

Escape Drain Number 1, Biharipur Nala, Band Nala, Relief Drain, Kiradi Suleman Nagar Nala, Pankha Road Nala, and Nasirpur Nala are the major drains in Delhi that tend to create problems during the monsoon. The department has undertaken desilting of drains under bridges, it said.

Additionally, maintenance and upkeep of boats and motorboat engines, repair and maintenance of regulators and gates and maintenance of pumps and DG sets will be carried out. A 24-hour patrolling will be conducted during floods to ensure the safety and proper functioning of embankments, the statement said.

- With PTI Input?