PATNA, July 7 -- Wary of last year's experience, the water resources department (WRD) has roped in the Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune, to study the impact of siltation in Kosi river owing to the growing menace of flooding. The WRD had to engage CWPRS for assessment of silt in the upstream of Birpur barrage on the river in Supaul and in the downstreams after the Kosi high-level committee (KHLC), headed by the chairman of Ganga flood control commission, had earlier turned down the Bihar government's proposal for silt management in the river's upstream. A senior official of the department, dealing in flood control division, said KHLC had sought scientific study and impact of the silt deposit in the catchment of barrage and downstream of the river to give its go ahead. "Once the department gets done the thorough study of the silt deposit in the river, we would approach the Centre for financial and technical support to launch silt management," said the engineer. In September last year, Kosi had experienced high water levels and discharge at the Birpur barrage due to heavy rainfall, leading to a flood alert for the northern and central parts of the state. The department had then reported the highest discharge from the barrage since 1968, with 6.61 lakh cusecs released as on September 29, leading to breaches in the embankments at several places. The issue of flooding in Kosi river due to heavy siltation also cropped up in a meeting chaired by chief secretary Amrit Lal Meena some months back and the officials and engineers were told to take all precautionary steps to mitigate the challenge of flooding from Kosi and other rivers, originating from Nepal. Principal secretary, WRD, Santosh Kumar Mall said the gushing currents in Kosi had overtopped the Birpur barrage owing to unprecedented heavy rains in Nepal. "The department's engineers, accompanied by the experts from CWPRS carried out a safety audit of the barrage, examined and calibrated the operation of gates and cross checked other mechanisms. The structure is operating perfectly fine," said Mall, adding the department would take call on silt management in Kosi after the floods....