Two government departments are working together on a thorough check of the Ganga protection wall sluice gates in Patna ahead of monsoon to ensure the city is not inundated like last year.

The urban development department has contacted the water resources department for a check-up and repair work, if necessary, of all the sluice gates. It will send a letter soon to the water resources department. A copy of the letter will also be sent to the Patna district magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agarwal and divisional commissioner Anand Kishor.

Sluice gates are sliding gates or other tool that control water flow. Last year, the overflowing Ganga flooded residential and business centres near its banks in Patna. A leak in the sluice gates had inundated the area.

So, this monsoon the government wants no re-run of 2016.

The urban development department has directed Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) as well to depute an engineer who would co-ordinate with the water resources department to check and repair the sluice gates if needed.

"As part of preparation for the onset of monsoon in Bihar, we have requested the water resources department to run a comprehensive check-up of the Ganga protection wall, right from Patna City to Digha," said Chaitanya Prasad, principal secretary, urban development. "We have asked the department to monitor the upkeep of the wall to prevent incidents like last year."

He added that directives have been issued to PMC commissioner Abhishek Singh to depute one of his officers or engineers for co-ordination.

The 24km flood protection wall was constructed in Patna after the 1975 floods when waters of the Ganga and Sone rivers wreaked havoc on the city. However, locals have encroached upon a large portion of the protection wall and illegally constructed houses on the riverbanks. Some apartments have also come up within the flood protection wall on the riverbed.

The PMC last year identified 20 buildings that posed a threat to the river's ecology. In September 2015, the National Green Tribunal's eastern zonal bench in Calcutta issued a notice to the PMC to show-cause builders concerned why these buildings - built in violation of environment norms - should not be demolished. The green watchdog in its order on September 22, 2014 had categorically stated that no building should be constructed inside the flood protection wall.

As the Ganga breached the danger mark in Patna last year, the district administration had to issue an alert for 48 hours for people settled between the river and the flood protection wall.

An official in the urban development department said: "The department has put fresh curbs on building construction activities on the Ganga's dry riverbed, which prohibit new construction up to 200m beyond the Ganga flood protection wall."