Major rivers like Kosi, Bagmati, Gandak and Lal Bakeya are maintaining the rising trend in their courses in the past couple of days
The Bihar water resources department (WRD) has sounded alert in many north Bihar districts to the people living within embankments in view of rising trends of various rivers, officials said.
Owing to moderate to heavy rains in the catchment areas of Nepal, major rivers like Kosi, Bagmati, Gandak and Lal Bakeya are maintaining the rising trend in their courses in the past couple of days. Kosi is flowing above the danger level at Basua in Supaul, while Bagmati has jumped the red mark at Kataunjha in Muzaffarpur.
The department has alerted the district magistrate concerned to facilitate shifting of those living within the embankments of the rivers, said Lakshan Jha, superintending engineer (SE), floods, WRD.
“However, the situation is well within control as the surge in rivers is not that high. We are keeping a close watch and completing the anti-erosion work on a war-footing basis,” said Jha.
Reports from the flood forecast division of central water commission (CWC) said that the Gandak is also maintaining a rising trend in its course and about 14cm below the danger mark at Dumaria Ghat in Gopalganj. It was the same place where the turbulent current of the river breached the embankment last year.
Officials said that there was no threat of swelling in the rivers of North Bihar as long as the river Ganga is not filled up with water. Currently, the Ganga is flowing much below the danger level at many places. It is rising slightly at Digha and Gandhi Ghat in Patna, but in rest of the places the river is in the falling mode.
The situation might turn alarming if it rained heavily in catchment areas of Nepal and other parts of the state in the next 48 hours. “We are fully prepared to meet any eventuality even in case of sudden rise in water levels. All the vulnerable points of embankments have been fortified and early flood warning system is being monitored round the clock,” said the SE, floods.
