New Delhi, Sept. 3 -- The Yamuna breached the 206-metre mark in Delhi for the first time this monsoon on Tuesday evening, forcing authorities to evacuate families from low-lying areas and triggering emergency measures across the capital and the wider National Capital Region (NCR). The river, swollen by heavy rains upstream and large releases from the Hathnikund barrage, showed no signs of abating, raising fears of another spell of urban flooding. At 8pm on Tuesday, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge - which is representative of the city - stood at 206.3 metres, according to the Central Water Commission (CWC). The agency forecast the river to touch 206.9 metres by 7am on Wednesday, but warned that it will continue to rise, with the possibility of breaching the critical 207-metre threshold. Historical data underscores the gravity of the situation. Records from Delhi's Irrigation and Flood Control (I&FC) department over the past 63 years show that the Yamuna has crossed the 207-metre mark only four times, most recently in July 2023, when the river touched an unprecedented 208.66 metres, inundating vast swathes of the Capital. The rising water level in Delhi is directly linked to massive discharges from the Hathnikund barrage, located on the Haryana-Uttar Pradesh border. Triggered by incessant rainfall in the upper catchments of the Himalayas and northwestern India, the barrage recorded peak hourly releases of over 300,000 cusecs on Monday - the highest this season. At 9am, the discharge touched 329,313 cusecs, more than double the August 17 peak of 178,996 cusecs. CWC data shows the barrage has maintained flows above 100,000 cusecs since early Monday, with levels ranging from a low of 142,024 at 6pm to 223,729 cusecs at 1am on Tuesday. Typically, water released at Hathnikund takes 36 to 48 hours to reach Delhi, meaning Tuesday's surge is likely the result of Monday morning's releases. With flow at Hathnikund still high on Tuesday, officials warned that the Yamuna in Delhi is unlikely to recede before Thursday.htc...