After heavy rainfall in Nepal, all gates of the Kosi Barrage have been opened, leading to fears of severe flooding in Northern India. The situation is dire with water flowing over the bridge on the Kosi Barrage.
Vehicle Movement Halted
According to locals, they have never seen so much water in the Kosi River in the past 50 years. The overflow of water on the Kosi Barrage bridge has created a panic regarding floods among the people of Northern Bihar. As a precaution, vehicle movement on the bridge has been halted.
In 2008, when Bihar faced a flood disaster, the Kushaha Dam had broken. People recall that back then, 200,000 to 300,000 cubic feet per second (cusecs) of water were released, causing the dam to break. However, this time, more than 550,000 cusecs of water have already been released, making the situation extremely serious.
Potential Impact on 1.7 Million People
A senior official mentioned that after releasing water from Valmikinagar and Birpur Barrage on Saturday, the Bihar government issued a flood warning for the raging Kosi, Gandak, and Ganga rivers in the northern and central parts of the state. The flood could adversely affect over 1.62 million people across 13 districts, already reeling from heavy rains.
The Water Resources Department (WRD) in a statement said, 'Due to heavy rainfall in Nepal, the water flow has significantly increased in rivers like Gandak, Kosi, Mahananda, etc. Santosh Kumar Mall, Principal Secretary of WRD, stated that by 7 PM, 579,000 cusecs of water had been released from the Kosi river at Birpur Barrage, the highest in 56 years.
Record Water Release in 56 Years
He informed the news agency that all precautionary measures are being ensured for the safety of the embankments. The last highest water release was in 1968 at 788,000 cusecs. The official stated, 'WRD teams are monitoring the embankments 24/7 to promptly address any erosion or threats.'
These teams include 17 Executive Engineers, 25 Assistant Engineers, and 45 Junior Engineers from the Water Resources Department. Continuous rain over the past few days has raised the water levels in several rivers—Gandak, Kosi, Bagmati, Budhi Gandak, Kamla Balan, Mahananda, and Ganga.
Flood Likely to Inundate Several Districts
The officer revealed that by 7 PM on Saturday, Nepal had released 540,000 cusecs of water into Gandak Barrage and 499,000 cusecs into Kosi Barrage. This heavy discharge has led to excess water entering the lower areas of West and East Champaran, Gopalganj, Araria, Supaul, Katihar, Purnia, and several other districts.
An alert has already been issued in many districts of Bihar as the IMD warned of heavy rainfall and flash flood possibilities in some parts of the state.
