India and Nepal have decided to work together to restore the embankment of Kosi river in their border region that ruptured and flooded hundreds of villages in August. The deadline for this work has been set as March 2009.

Indian External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee visited the region with his Nepalese counterpart, Upendra Yadav on Wednesday to review the repair work of the breached portion of the river banks.

In August, the monsoon-swollen Kosi changed its course burst its banks and submerged nearly 1,000 villages in the impecunious northern Indian state of Bihar, rendering nearly three million homeless.

Some parts of Nepal were also affected by the floods.

"The two ministers reviewed ongoing works to rehabilitate the breached portion of the Kosi embankment and stressed the need to expedite work so that it is concluded by March 2009," said a joint statement issued at the end of Mukherjee's three-day visit to the Himalayan nation.