Morning scare, but getting better

NEW DELHI: Roads connecting the city's busiest intersection, ITO, as well as the country's most revered memorial complex, Rajghat, were submerged under the water of the Yamuna on Friday as a regulator mechanism to check the flooding stopped functioning.
The waterlogging on the important roads, caused by the regulator snag on Thursday, happened although the Yamuna's water level had receded.

The water level at the Old Railway Bridge at 8pm on Friday was 208.12 metres, down from 208.66 metres twenty-four hours before, according to an official bulletin.
A portion of Vikas Marg was waterlogged even late in the night.
The ITO stretch has offices of prominent government agencies on both sides. Water had entered the ground floors of the office of Director General of Audit, Central Revenues Building, income tax office, Vikas Minar, Indian Medical Association.
A joint effort by the army and the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) was mobilised to construct a weir. CM Arvind Kejriwal said: "Delhi will soon get some relief as the water levels in the river have started to recede. A regulator at Indraprastha has been damaged due to the increased water level in the Yamuna, and repair work has been going on throughout the night. Hopefully, it will be fixed in the next 4-5 hours. The government, NDRF, and the Army teams are working hard."
The LG office said: "Embankment at breached water regulator 80 pc complete; Army to finish work tonight."
By evening, vehicles were allowed to move on one side of the carriageway.
Flood water also reached till the gates of Supreme Court early in the morning but was pumped out.
At Rajghat, the memorial of Mahatma Gandhi, water rose to more than knee-deep level, creating an unexpected challenge at the memorial. Next to Rajghat are other memorials of Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri, Indira Gandhi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The entire compound was flooded. Some of the kiosks, used for exhibitions, went under.
A police officer at the site said: "The water started entering in the night and by morning, some areas had water up to six feet." He said that there was flood water on Ring Road from Rajghat to Red Fort.
Flushing out the water was not an option as seven PWD pump houses are submerged.
Minister Atishi said: "The areas that saw this situation yesterday have all their drains full. Water from ITO flows into the drains of Old Delhi but due to flooding around Red Fort all the drains of Old Delhi are full. I think it will take ten to twelve hours for the situation to be normal again," she added.
People coming from Noida and East Delhi to ITO either had return or risk driving through the water.
"I stay in Laxmi Nagar and I have been taking this route for over 10 years. My scooter stopped working as the water must have entered the engine. So now, I'm taking it to get repaired. I never imagined that the flood would reach so close to home," said Gagan Singh, an advocate.
Using the fence to cross the stretch, 60-year-old Sudama Devi waded through knee-deep water. "I was coming from Laxmi Nagar when we saw the flooded roads. I have to make ends meet, so not working is not an option for me."