Heads up: A ton of water (1.78 lakh cusecs!) just got released from the Hathnikund Barrage. Flood warnings are up for parts of Haryana and Delhi.
YAMUNANAGAR, Haryana, India – August 18, 2025:So, the folks at the Hathnikund Barrage in Haryana let loose 1.78 lakh cusecs of water into the Yamuna River today. That’s a lot, and it means there’s a flood alert for low-lying spots in Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Delhi. This is the most water they’ve released this monsoon season. They had to do it because the water level was rising way upriver due to all the rain. That water is expected to hit Delhi’s Old Railway Bridge in about a day or two.
Why all the water?
They had to open all 18 gates at the Hathnikund Barrage because the Yamuna got super high after all that rain in the mountains of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The water flow was creeping up, hitting 74,304 cusecs by 10 a.m. Saturday before jumping to 1.78 lakh cusecs by 3 p.m. The water management people are calling this a medium flood.
R. S. Mittal, who’s in charge at the Haryana Irrigation and Water Resources Department (IWRD), said they had to let the water out to keep the barrage from overflowing. They consider over 1.5 lakh cusecs a medium flood, and anything over 2.5 lakh cusecs is a high flood. This barrage replaced the old Tajewala Barrage back in 1999 and is super important for controlling the river’s flow.
Impact on Haryana and Uttar Pradesh
Before the water gets to Delhi, it’s going to hit villages along the river in Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Local officials are telling people in low-lying areas to get out now and move their animals to higher ground. The Somb River, which feeds into the Yamuna, is also overflowing, carrying more than 23,000 cusecs of water—way over its safe level.
Some villages, like Dhanaura and Haripur Khol, are already dealing with streams overflowing, and people are worried about major flooding. The bridge from Haryana to Himachal Pradesh at Ranjitpur is also getting pounded by the water, which is making folks nervous. The government is getting rescue stuff ready in those areas.
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Delhi on Alert: Watching the River
The Delhi government is on high alert. They watch the river level at the Old Railway Bridge. The Yamuna’s warning level in Delhi is 204.50 meters, and the danger mark is 205.33 meters. Officials think all this water will make the river rise a lot, maybe even over the warning level.
If the water hits 206 meters, they’ll start moving people out of low-lying areas. The Delhi Flood Control Department is telling everyone to get ready for a possible flood, including setting up shelters and rescue teams. They learned a lot from the big floods back in 2023.
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Flashback: The 2023 Floods
This whole thing feels like the July 2023 floods, which were some of the worst Delhi has seen in a while. Back then, they released a record 3.59 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage, and the Yamuna swelled to 208.66 meters. That flooded a bunch of important places, like the Ring Road and even the Red Fort.
After those floods, people realized that it wasn’t just the water release that caused the problem. Stuff like buildings blocking the floodplains and silted-up barrages in Delhi made it worse. The 2023 floods showed how at-risk Delhi’s flood-prone areas are and how important it is to keep things maintained and have a better plan in place.
Where’s At Risk?
The Delhi government knows which low-lying areas are most likely to flood. Places like the Boat Club, Monastery Market, Yamuna Bazaar, Geeta Ghat, and parts of the road from Majnu Ka Tilla to Wazirabad are all on alert. People in those areas have been told to be ready. Rescue teams and boats are ready to go, and shelters are being set up.
The government is also trying to spread the word about the risks and how to evacuate. They’re using sirens and announcements to make sure people have enough time to get to safety. They’re way more prepared than they were before, and they’re trying hard not to repeat the 2023 mess.
What’s Next?
While everyone’s focused on this water release, it also shows that there are long-term problems with managing floods in the Yamuna area. With the weather getting crazier, these kinds of events will probably happen more often. That means there needs to be a better, long-term way to handle things.
Some experts are saying that just releasing water isn’t enough. They want to see the riverbed cleaned up, illegal buildings removed from the floodplains, and the city’s drainage system improved. They’re also keeping a close eye on the water levels at the Hathnikund Barrage and downstream. Right now, officials are watching everything closely as the Yamuna heads toward Delhi.
