By Tenzin Sangmo

The Yamuna River crossed the danger mark of 204.87 Monday morning and continues to flow above the said level causing an outcry in the Tibetan settlements of Majnu Ka Tilla and Budh Vihar.

Situated on the banks of the river, the rising tide has been a cause of concern among residents here.

Budh Vihar, a usually busy market this time of the year with the coming of Indian festivals wore a deserted look on Tuesday and Wednesday with flood water invading some of the shopping complexes. Shopkeepers waded through the knee high water as they struggled to get their belongings to safety.

Inspector Bhup Singh, Division Officer of Ladakh Budh Vihar area told VOA, "Water level is rising. And for the safety of the public and to avoid any untoward incident we told them to vacate the market area as a precautionary measure in advance."

"The closure of market will lose around Rs 40 - 50 Lacs per day for the Tibetans. The situation may improve after few days if the rain stops in upper areas " said Lobsang Tsultrim, head of the Tibetan Market Association.

The Haryana government was forced to release more than 50,000 cusecs of water from swollen reservoirs in the Yamuna last Sunday due to heavy rainfall in the Himalayan watersheds.

With the water gradually receding now, a senior official from the Flood and Irrigation Department told PTI, " "The water level will further decline as Haryana is now releasing less quantity of water compared to the last few days. We hope the water scale will go below the danger mark of 204.80 metres,"

Though daily livelihood has been affected there is no imminent threat to life and property.