With the Yamuna swelling to a staggering 208.48 metres, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday advised people to not use roads around the river as they have been inundated.

"The water level of Yamuna is rising continuously. Now the level has reached 208.46m. Due to the rising water level, the water of Yamuna has come on the roads around it. You are requested not to go on these routes," he said in a tweet in Hindi. He said people are being evacuated from inundated areas.

"The people living there are requested to cooperate with the administration. Saving lives of people is most important.This is an appeal to all the people of Delhi to cooperate with each other in every possible way in this emergency situation," he added.

Delhi recorded a rapid increase in the Yamuna's water level over the past three days. The water level shot up from 203.14 metres at 11 am on Sunday to 205.4 metres at 5 pm on Monday, breaching the danger mark of 205.33 metres 18 hours earlier than expected.

The river exceeded the evacuation mark of 206 metres Monday night, prompting the relocation of people residing in flood-prone areas to safer locations and the closure of the Old Railway Bridge for road and rail traffic.? The water level breached the previous all-time record of 207.49 metres by 1 pm on Wednesday and the 208-metre mark by 10 pm.