Noida: Rain in its catchment area in Uttarakhand is making the docile Hindon river rise again, reviving memories of 2023, when hundreds of houses built on its heavily encroached riverbed were inundated and 3,000 people were displaced.On Monday, Hindon flowed at 202.1 metres in Ghaziabad — three metres below the danger mark of 205.8m but enough to inundate Karhera and displace more than 500 residents. City Forest, Ghaziabad’s green lung spread over 150 acres along the river, was shut.In Noida, the river flowed at 200.25m, pushing water into the lowest-lying houses in Chotpur, Chhajarsi, Kulesra, Haibatpur and nearby colonies. Most residents have chosen to stay put and adopt a wait-and-watch approach, though fears from 2023 linger.That year, Ghaziabad and Noida experienced severe flooding despite the river staying below the danger mark at the barrage (201.15m), largely due to high discharge from upstream, floodplain inundation, breaches of local embankments, encroachments on the floodplain, and backwater effects from the Yamuna.In Chotpur on Monday, Meena Singh said her house is surrounded by floodwater and her access to the main road has been cut off. “We earlier lived in rented accommodation in Delhi. After saving money, we bought a 40-square-metre plot here and built our house. The water level has been rising for the past four days. I have not stepped out during this period and depend on neighbours to bring groceries and vegetables,” she said.In Behlolpur, Kamlesh, who works as a tailor at a sports company in Sector 63, said floodwater had reached his house. “We are staying for now, but if the water level rises further, we will have to evacuate,” he said.
The rising water has also begun to damage crops
In Ghaziabad’s Karhera, residents have been staying awake at night. “The lanes are flooded and one has to wade through floodwater to reach higher ground. We can’t leave our house with all our belongings, and once we are gone we fear thieves might break in — so my husband will stay back while I shift,” said Rekha, a resident.Another resident, Sushil, questioned the administration’s inaction since 2023. “This has become an annual problem. Why did the administration not take any action to check floods all these years?”The rising water has also begun to damage crops, with farmer Chatarpal saying his jowar across eight acres was destroyed after floodwater entered fields. Several residents were seen reinforcing mud embankments around their homes to keep the water out.Raj Kumar Vern, executive engineer of the irrigation department (Ghaziabad), said Karhera sits entirely on the floodplain and has only grown denser over the years despite signage marking it as such.“As of 12pm on Monday, the discharge of the river was 6,812 cusecs. The water level downstream of the Ghaziabad barrage is 200.6 metres, which is 4.48 metres below the danger mark. There is currently no flood situation,” he said.He added that Ghaziabad Development Authority and the irrigation department are working to clear water hyacinths and other obstructions from City Forest, and that the river’s flow “remains uninterrupted” with water levels in the district steadily receding.The district administration has set up a relief shelter at the Composite School in Karhera, with sanitation, drinking water, mobile toilets, medical facilities and first aid arranged for affected residents. The district magistrate has directed all departments to stay vigilant and coordinate, with river levels and weather being monitored round the clock.The rain-fed Hindon originates in the lower Shivaliks in Saharanpur district and flows roughly 300km before meeting the Yamuna near Momnathal in GB Nagar. Water has been steadily rising at the barrage since last few days though no rain was recorded in the region.
