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          Patna, Sep 25 (IANS) Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has   asked all district authorities to be on high alert after heavy rains across the   state Sunday sparked fears of flood waters spreading to more areas in the state,   officials said.Already, low-lying areas of 12 districts are flooded due   to rise in the levels of Ganges and Sone rivers.
 
 
 |  "The chief minister held a meeting with top officials to review the flood   situation and asked them to be on high alert," an official at the chief   minister's office here said.
 The state government has cancelled the leave   of all engineers of the water resources department till Oct 15, while officials   of the state disaster management department have been directed to be vigilant.
 
 "The government has directed the district magistrates to intensify the   vigil along the embankments and carry out flood protection work at vulnerable   places," an official of the water resources department said.
 
 The Patna   and Ara canals of the Sone river have been closed as a precautionary   measure.
 
 "The government sounded alert after heavy rains in catchments   areas of major rivers and sudden release of over eight lakh cusecs of water from   the Bansagar reservoir in Madhya Pradesh," an official of the state disaster   management department said.
 
 Bihar Water Resources Minister Vijay Kumar   Choudhary has asked officials to be on alert in the wake of the water discharge   from Bansagar.
 
 According to central water commission officials, all major   rivers in the state are flowing above the danger mark, with flood-waters   spreading to many areas and affecting hundreds of thousands of   people.
 
 The district authorities have asked hundreds of people to shift   to safe places.
 
 This is second time in 20 days when a sudden rise in   water levels of the Ganges and Sone has created havoc among thousands of   people.
 
 
 
      
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