By Our Correspondent, Saptari, July 21: The water level in the Saptakoshi River has reached the highest level in the recent years due to incessant rainfall, prompting the authorities to flash the red light and red flag.

The Koshi Barrage Control Room, which regularly monitors water in the river every hour, revealed that the water flow recorded at 12:30 pm on Tuesday was the highest of the year. As per the control room, the flow was 334,900 cusec.

In the rainy season of the past years, the control room of Saptakoshi had recorded 301,460 cusec of water flow as the highest.

The increasing flow of water and the rise on the level has increased the risk leading the authorities to open 48 out of the 56 floodgates of Koshi Barrage.

“The increasing level of water in the river has increased the risk of flooding in the settlements nearby. As the red light has been flashed, the locals are being informed and relocated to safe places,” said Superintendent of Police Krishna Prasain, chief of Saptari District Police Office.

At the Koshi Barrage, red light is flashed on the western side if the water flow surpasses 150,000 cusec and it is flashed on the eastern side if the water flow exceeds 200,000 cusec.

If the water flow crosses 300,000 cusec, the red light glows in the middle of the barrage with a red flag. The light informs the nearby locals of the water flow in the river.