Kathmandu, October 6(HS): The water level in Nepal’s Koshi River has begun to recede steadily, allowing authorities to reopen the Koshi Barrage bridge for vehicular movement on Monday morning after it was closed overnight due to heavy water flow.On Sunday, water discharge at the barrage had surged to 530,000 cusecs per second, prompting officials to open all 56 sluice gates and suspend traffic across the bridge as a precautionary measure. However, the situation has since improved significantly.

According to Manoj Kumar, Executive Engineer from the Government of India overseeing operations at the Koshi Barrage, the water flow reduced to 410,000 cusecs per second by 8:30 AM on Monday. He confirmed that 53 of the barrage’s gates remain open to maintain safe water levels.

“Traffic movement, which was completely halted last night, resumed from 8 AM today. All types of vehicles are now allowed to cross the Koshi Barrage bridge,” Kumar stated.

While the barrage remains under extreme danger level due to the high water volume, officials emphasized that rainfall in the upstream mountainous regions has eased, leading to a gradual decline in river flow and significantly reduced risk of flooding.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar