NEW DELHI: Experts say that the water flow from the Hathnikund reservoir in Haryana cannot be blamed for the Delhi floods. Encroachments along the river banks, construction activities obstructing the natural flow of water and siltation have contributed to the floods. Heavy rains in Delhi and neighbouring states in the past few days and water from the Hatnikund reservoir increased its intensity.

Authorized and unauthorized construction on the banks has filled the open areas that naturally maintained excess water in the event of a flood. This is the reason why the excess water cannot be held and overflows. Cities were built on the banks of the Yamuna River during Mughal rule. However, the open areas on both banks were protected against the possibility of flooding.

The Yamuna's decline began when the British moved the city from Old Delhi to present-day New Delhi. It is only now that the Red Fort built by the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan on the banks of the Yamuna is under threat of flooding.

There are currently 25 bridges across the river in the 22 km stretch from Wazirabad to Okhla in Delhi. One bridge every 800 meters. The embankment and bridge piers built for their construction obstructed the natural flow of water. Apart from these, the lack of maintenance in the regulators that control the drainage water within the city also brought the water into the city. Some of these are under the control of the Haryana and Uttar Pradesh governments.

In 2013 and 2019, the water level of the Yamuna rose above 206 meters but the city was not flooded. The misery experienced by the people of Delhi for two days is the reflection of the changes that have happened to Yamuna in the past four years.