PATNA, Aug. 23 -- Low-lying and diara pockets of the capital city and towns further downstream along the Ganga are staring at a familiar but intensifying flood threat after the river rose sharply across its stretch from Buxar to Bhagalpur on Saturday. Water resources department (WRD) reports showed the Ganga crossing the danger mark at Gandhi Ghat in Patna and at Hathidah in Mokama, while levels at Digha Ghat hovered just below the red line. At 2 pm on Friday the river stood at 49.22 metres against a danger level of 48l.60 metres at Gandhi Ghat, 42.02 metres against 41.76 metres at Hathidah and 50.36 metres against 50.45 metres at Digha. Upstream stations at Buxar, Varanasi and Prayagraj also recorded steady rises, though still short of danger. Pathways leading to houses in the diara areas of Danapur have already gone under. Residents in these flood-prone tracts report water lapping at doorsteps and daily life grinding to a halt. Families have begun moving to higher ground or temporary shelters. Several schools in the affected localities have been partially closed as swirling currents make approach roads unsafe. Riverine areas like Panapur , Kasimchak, Ghanghara, Bishnapur and Akhilpur have been badly affected with teachers claiming it was difficult to reach these areas as they were inundated due to the rise in water level of Ganga. " Several diara areas have got inundated and it difficult to reach there," said Nitiyanand Singh, a school teacher, who was stuck along with others in Danapur. He is posted in a school at Panapur. According to reports from the road construction department (RCD), the rising waters have forced a halt to major infrastructure works. Construction on the new bridge rising beside the JP Setu and Gandhi Setu has been suspended. Work on the Gayghat underpass of the JP Ganga Path has been disrupted. The metro casting yard on the northern flank of the Ganga Path is now ringed by water on all sides, raising fears of seepage within a day or two. Activity has also stopped at the West to Wonder Park site opposite Bans Ghat and on the Samagra Udyan project running from the Collectorate to Digha. Floodwater has entered the STP nala that normally discharges treated sewage into the river. Digha cremation ghat was submerged on Friday, and more than two feet of water accumulated in the Chaupati stretch beneath JP Setu. District officials have responded by erecting red-cloth barriers and warning banners from the riverfront ghats to Digha, designating the entire zone as a danger area and appealing to residents to stay away from the water's edge. The pressure is not confined to the Ganga. In north Bihar four other rivers were flowing above the danger mark. The Kosi river was flowing about 52 cm above the red mark at Baltara, the Gandak at Dumariya Ghat (53 cm above), the Bagmati at Benibad (14 cm above) and the Ghaghra at Darauli in Siwan (30 cm above). Discharge data released by the Central Flood Control Cell showed the Kosi at Barahkshetra surging to 1,23,500 cusec by 2 pm, with further increases recorded downstream at Birpur Barrage. The Gandak, Sone and North Koel also carried elevated volumes, though trends varied between rising and falling across different barrages. WRD officials said that the surge in water level in various rivers including Ganga are being monitored constantly. "Our teams are on alert, relief camps are being readied where needed, and the public has been urged to heed official advisories. The next 48 hours will determine whether the present rise stabilises or intensifies into a fuller flood wave," said a press note from the WRD....