Kanpur, Aug. 27 -- The Ganga has reached the warning mark in Kanpur as the river continues to rise following persistent rain, making authorities step up monitoring along the ghats and low-lying areas. In neighbouring Farrukhabad, the river has already crossed the danger mark, with 65 villages affected by flooding. At Ganga Barrage in Kanpur, all 30 gates have been opened as rising water and increased discharge put pressure on the river system. About five lakh cusecs of water was discharged towards Prayagraj on Wednesday. The river stood at 114.22 metres upstream of the barrage and 114.07 metres downstream. In Shuklaganj, the Ganga reached the warning level of 113 metres, bringing the river closer to its danger mark of 114 metres. Police have been deployed at major ghats and people are being advised to avoid the river because of the strong current. The administration and police are monitoring riverbank settlements and are keeping teams ready to alert residents if the water level rises further. Officials at the Ganga Barrage control room said the river was continuing to rise. The situation is worse in Farrukhabad, where the Ganga rose to 137.15 metres on Tuesday, five centimetres above the danger mark of 137.10 metres. The level increased by 10 centimetres in 24 hours.Floodwater has entered houses and lanes in several villages, while fresh rain has made the situation worse. Residents are struggling to arrange fodder for cattle and dry fuel for cooking. Families have moved bedding, clothes, grain and other essentials to rooftops or higher places, covering them with polythene to protect them from rain. Residents said they had managed to dry cow dung cakes and firewood before the latest rain, but these had become wet again, making it difficult to cook even one meal. The SDM Amritpur Shweta Sahu during an inspection, met residents of Mahmadpur Gadhiya and Gandhi villages who were living under polythene sheets along the Etawah-Bareilly highway. They were advised to move to flood shelters, where officials said arrangements had been made for food and cattle fodder. Lekhpals were also directed to prepare a list of flood-affected families staying along the highway.At Narora, 1,22,848 cusecs of water was released into the Ganga on Tuesday. In flood-hit villages of Sadar tehsil, Farrukhabad, a Juloos-e-Mohammadi was taken out on motorboats on the occasion of Prophet Mohammad's birthday, with hundreds of residents joining the procession in the floodwaters....