Bihar orders evacuation over floods in Kosi region

Patna, Aug 2 (IANS) Bihar on Saturday issued an alert over likely floods in Supaul, Saharsa, Purnea and Madhepura districts – in the Kosi region – and ordered evacuation of people after a sharp rise in the water level of the Kosi, officials said.

Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar Chaudhary said the government sounded the alert after massive landslides Friday night over Bhote Kosi, one of the major tributaries of the Kosi river, that blocked the course of the main river in Nepal killing eight people and trapping many more.

"As the landslide blocked the main course of the river and water accumulated there forming a massive water body, the Nepal Army is likely to blast the blockade, which is bound to cause an abrupt rise in the water level of the Kosi," he said.

"We expect a huge huge quantity of water to be released after the blast. It may also spill beyond the Kosi and its embankments, causing floods," he said.

The state disaster management department has asked officials to start evacuation of people living in the embankments of the Kosi in the four districts.

"We have directed the district administrations to evacuate people and see that they don’t get trapped when the river level increases. Hundreds of thousands of people live in villages situated within the embankments of the Kosi," said disaster management department special secretary Anirudh Kumar.

Five teams of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and three teams of the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) have also been rushed to tackle any emergency in view of the floods.

The water resources department held an emergency meeting Saturday to discuss the situation after the landslide over Bhote Kosi.