The Koshi Barrage is a

sluice Sluice ( ) is a word for a channel controlled at its head by a movable gate which is called a sluice gate. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway and can be considered ...

across the

Koshi river The Kosi or Koshi ( ne, कोशी, , hi, कोसी, ) is a transboundary river which flows through China, Nepal and India. It drains the northern slopes of the Himalayas in Tibet and the southern slopes in Nepal. From a major conflue ...

that carries vehicular, bicycle, and pedestrian traffic between

Saptari district Saptari ( ne, सप्तरी जिल्ला}), a part of Madhesh Province, is one of the seventy-seven districts of Nepal. Its district headquarter is Rajbiraj. Saptari is an Outer Terai district. This district covers an area of and h ...

and

Sunsari district , nickname = , native_name_lang = , image_skyline = , image_size = , image_alt = , image_caption = Night view of Dharan, Itahari & Tarahara :: Barahakshetra Temple: BPKIHS, Dharan :Dharan Clock Tower , image_map = Sunsari district loc ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...

. It is near the International border with

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area, the List of countries and dependencies by population, second-most populous ...

. It was built between 1958 and 1962 and has 56 gates. It was constructed after the Koshi Agreement was signed between the Government of Nepal and India on April 25, 1954. The barrage was designed and built by Joseph and Company Limited, India. The Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve is roughly 3–4 miles north of the barrage.

2017 flood

Due to this barrage, every year several areas of

Terai , image =Terai nepal.jpg , image_size = , image_alt = , caption =Aerial view of Terai plains near Biratnagar, Nepal , map = , map_size = , map_alt = , map_caption = , biogeographic_realm = Indomalayan realm , global200 = Terai-Duar savanna a ...

are affected due to the flood and blockage of this barrage. This affects mostly the Koshi region of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

( Supaul,

Saharsa Saharsa is a city and Municipal corporation in the Saharsa District in the eastern part of the state of Bihar, India. It is situated near the eastern banks of the Kosi River. It serves as the administrative headquarters for Saharsa District a ...

Madhepura Madhepura is a municipality in Madhepura district in the Indian state of Bihar. It stands at the centre of Kosi ravine, It was called ''Madhyapura-'' a place centrally situated which was subsequently transformed as Madhipura into present Madhep ...

and

Purnia Purnia ()(also romanized as Purnea) is a city that serves as the administrative headquarters of both Purnia district and Purnia division in the Indian state of Bihar. Total geographical area of Purnia Urban Agglomeration is which is nex ...

). The Kosi River is known as the "Sorrow of Bihar" as the annual floods affect about of fertile agricultural lands thereby disturbing the rural economy. The Koshi has an average water flow (discharge) of .

2008 flood

In August 2008, the eastern embankments of the Koshi Barrage collapsed, several miles north of the Nepal-India border. The resulting flood wiped out miles of fertile farmland in Nepal, covering it with a thick layer of river sand, and affected 53,800 Nepalese. It left 3 million people homeless in Bihar,

.Adhikary, Dhruba (5 September 2008)
"For Prachanda, a tale of two cities"
''Asia Times''. Retrieved on 29 September 2008.

Tourism

This river the home for

Gangetic Dolphin South Asian river dolphins are toothed whales in the genus ''Platanista'', which inhabit fresh water habitats in the northern Indian subcontinent. They were historically considered to be one species (''P. gangetica'') with the Ganges river do ...

and other different species of fresh water fishes. Siberian birds can be seen there easily during the month of August–October. People usually visit there to have the varieties of fish dishes in the nearby riverside restaurants and see the scenic view from the barrage. The sunrise and the sunset view literally catch people' eyes there. Rowing or a motor boat is available there for extra adventure which carries people to the

islets An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

Air Transport

Rajbiraj Airport Rajbiraj Airport is a domestic airport located in Rajbiraj serving Saptari District, a district in Madhesh Province in Nepal. After eleven years of complete shut down, the airport resumed its operations on 23 May 2018. The airport is used by ...

is the nearest airport roughly away is located in district headquarter and nearest city Rajbiraj. Shree Airlines and Buddha Air operates daily flights between Rajbiraj and

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

References

External links