Flood alert in Bihar following heavy discharge of water from Birpur barrage

The Bihar government has sounded an alert for flood in northern and central parts of the state following heavy discharge of water from Birpur barrage on Sunday, officials said. A total of 6.61 lakh cusecs of water was released from Birpur barrage on Kosi river till 5 am, the highest in 56 years. According to the latest bulletin by the state Water Resources department, the last time the maximum water discharged from this barrage was 7.88 lakh cusecs of water in 1968. The development may aggravate the condition of over 16.28 lakh people in 13 districts, who were already affected by inundation following heavy rain. Similarly, 5.38 lakh cusecs of water was released from Valmikinagar barrage on Gandak till 7 pm on Saturday. This is the highest water discharged from this barrage after 6.39 lakh cusecs released in 2003. Traffic movement has been stopped near the Kosi barrage as a preventive measure. "The teams of the Water Resources Department are monitoring the embankments on a 24/7 basi