Thirty-two km of the Kosi embankments fall in Nepali territory.

'The only way to keep the embankments safe and avert any disaster is by constant vigil on the river flow for timely identification of vulnerable points,' Nayak wrote to the Nepal government.

Early this month, heavy water discharge into the Kosi river from Nepal posed a threat to its embankments. In view of the panic among people in Supaul, Madhepura, Purnea, Saharsa and Araria districts, the state government alerted its engineers and asked them to keep a close watch on the embankments.

Bihar Water Resources Development Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav has repeatedly said that the Kosi embankments are safe and there was no need to panic.

He stressed that the eastern Kosi embankment, which had breached last year, had been strengthened.