Patna: Water level in the Ganga showed a falling trend in Patna, especially at Digha Ghat and Gandhi Ghat, on Sunday but people in Patna district waited with bated breath for water released from Bansagar Dam in Madhya Pradesh into the Sone river over the last couple of days to arrive.

The district administration, however, said there was not much danger right now.

"The water level in the Ganga is high, but is falling. The water released from Bansagar Dam in the Sone is going to come into it, but water resources department officials have said that there is no need to panic. Though there is no alert for the higher reaches, we have issued alert for low-lying areas," Patna district magistrate Kumar Ravi said.

Panapur, Haldi Chhapra, Kasim Chak and Bind Toli areas were most affected and the administration has provided 12 boats for the people still stationed there so that they can move to safer areas. The silver lining was that Punpun, one of the most volatile rives near Patna, had gone below the danger level.

Rohtas, Kaimur, Aurangabad, Arwal and Bhojpur districts were, however, on alert as the Sone river flows through them.

"Water from Bansagar released in Sone, as well as North Koel and Obra rivers come to the Indrapuri barrage here. The maximum discharge from the barrage was 3.82 lakh cusecs on Sunday, which is much less than the absorption capacity of 6 lakh cusec of Sone. So there will be no effect here," Rohtas district magistrate Pankaj Dixit said.

However, he said State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) teams were stationed to meet any emergency.

"We have already made announcements through public address system among the people to remain cautious. If the water discharge in Sone river increases then we will evacuate them," Dixit added.

The Ganga was still flowing above the danger level at various places in Bhagalpur and Katihar districts. Its water has spilled onto roads at various places in Zafarnagar, Kutlupur, Sitacharan, Shiv Kund and around a dozen other villages of Munger Sadar and Jamalpur blocks in Munger district.

Among other rivers, Bagmati, Budi Gandak and Ghaghra rivers were also flowing above danger levels at different locations in north Bihar, inundating the low-lying areas at many places, but without any serious threat of floods.

Additional reporting by ShriKrishna Prasad in Munger