Global News

[ad_1] The historic Yamuna Bridge here whose construction over 150 years ago was considered an extraordinary engineering feat, was first opened for traffic in 1866, connecting Calcutta and Delhi on a continuous rail network for the very first time. The old bridge, popularly referred to as 'lohey ka pul' (iron bridge) has witnessed many floods in its over a century-and-a-half journey, so much so that it is also a reference point for measuring danger level for Yamuna water levels. The mighty river has been in spate for the last week, swelling to 207.71 metres on Wednesday, breaching its all-time record of 207.49 metres set in 1978, inundating several key areas in Delhi, after submerging the floodplains. With the raging river waters lapping close to its base, the landmark bridge -- a major lifeline of the Indian Railways -- has been temporarily closed for traffic movement as the river exceeded the evacuation mark earlier in the week. After breaching the 45-year record, wat...