Patna, May 26: The state government has pinned hope on the proposed Kosi High Level Committee (KHLC) meeting, which is likely to take a final call on digging of a pilot channel in the downstream of the river for keeping the flow of water centralised.

The river in its downstream has shifted eastwards which is putting pressure on the eastern embankment of the river. Sharing this information with reporters today, the Bihar water resources department (WRD) minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary said: “Due to objection from Nepal, the digging work of the 11.3-km-long pilot channel has been stopped. We have every hope that the KHLC meeting would help in addressing the apprehension of Nepal officials related to the likely impact of digging of the pilot channel.”

Chairman of Ganga flood control commission heads the KHLC and senior WRD officials of Bihar and Nepal happen to be its members.

Incidentally, only after getting approval of KHLC, Bihar had started the pilot channel digging work in April this year but barely four days after the work had started it was stopped by Nepal residents, who apprehended that the digging of the channel would shift the river course towards the western embankment. Subsequently, local administrative officials of Nepal, too, gave in writing to stop the work.

“The apprehensions of the Nepal side are not based on fact as our goal is to keep the river water flow centralised and digging of pilot channel would never lead to increased water pressure on the western embankment. We would put up this point during KHLC meeting,” said the minister.

He, however, also said WRD was taking precautionary steps as well in case the issue could not be resolved and the strengthening work of the eastern embankment was going on in full swing to face any eventuality. Satellite pictures of the past few years show that there has been a dramatic eastward shift in Kosi water flow in the downstream of Kosi barrage from 2002 to 2011 putting pressure on the eastern embankment in the downstream.

Choudhary said the issue of Kosi barrage gate operation would also be raised during the KHLC meeting as the present regimen in regulating the barrage gates was decided when Kosi course had witnessed a westward shift.

Having returned from the meeting of Ganga Flood Control Board, Choudhary said he raised the point that it was the Centre’s responsibility to bear the full expenses incurred on flood fighting in north Bihar as it was being caused by rivers of Nepal and any disaster taking place in a state due to an international factor was the Centre’s responsibility.