Heavy rain leads to rise inKosi, Gandak water levels

Patna/Bagaha: Heavy rain uniformly spread across the catchment areas of north Bihar rivers in Nepal and the plains of north Bihar have resulted in a sudden surge in water levels in the Kosi and Gandak rivers. According to the daily flood bulletin from the water resource department (WRD), the discharge through Birpur barrage on the Kosi in Supaul district rose sharply from 1.15 lakh cusecs on Friday to 2.69 lakh cusecs by Saturday afternoon.
Similarly, the release through the Gandak barrage increased significantly to 2.18 lakh cusecs from previous 83,900 cusecs on Friday afternoon.These readings mark the highest water flows through these barrages since the onset of the monsoon this year.
With heavy rainfall continuing in the rivers’ catchment areas in Nepal, particularly the Pokhara catchment of the Gandak receiving 132mm on Monday, water levels in the Kosi, Gandak, and other north Bihar rivers are expected to rise further on Sunday.
At Valmikinagar, heavy rainfall in the hilly catchment areas of rivers like Gandak, Manor, Kosil, Haraha, Bhapsa, and Masan has caused significant swelling. At 5pm on Saturday, the Gandak barrage at Valmikinagar released 2,90,200 cusecs downstream, with all 36 gates open and the western and eastern Gandak canals closed as a precaution against further rising water levels, assistant engineer Ranjan Kumar said.