Taking a resolve to revive rivers in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav laid foundation stone for Gomti Riverfront Development Scheme saying Gomti would be the lifeline of lucknow which will add sheen to the majestic grandeur of this historic city.
“Gomti has its history. In earlier days Gomti was the lifeline of lucknow. The river was used for trading. The front of all heritage buildings opens towards this river. But, of late, the river has died with almost no aquatic life in it. Now, Samajwadi Party Government has taken by the cudgel to revive Gomti,” Yadav said while laying foundation stone of the Gomti River Front Development Scheme here on Tuesday.
He said that Samajwadi Party Government is committed to revive rivers. Earlier two rivers in Mahoba and Jhansi have been revived, and now efforts are on to give a new lease of to Gomti. There is no paucity of funds. Budgetary allocation has been made for this project, Chief Minister said.
“If fish start dying it is clear indication that river is dying. This means that dissolved oxygen has come down because of impurity in the water. This is fact that river, when enters lucknow is relatively clean but gets dirty as it passes through city,” Yadav said water has the power of self purification but sometimes it gets so dirty that water loses that power too.
Gomti, which starts from Pilibhit and merges with Ganga near Ghazipur travels almost 900 km of which 30 km is inside lucknow. At least 36 nullahs fall in this river in state capital. “If we want to keep Gomti clean we will have to ensure that nullah do not pour their effluent in this river. Once we can divert these nullahs the Gomti will emerge clean,” he said. “Once developed the Gomti Riverfront will be tourist attraction and will also ease traffic,” Chief Minister said.
PWD and Irrigation Minister Shivpal Singh Yadav said that previously many governments talked about cleaning Ganga but they took only cosmetic steps. No serious effort was made to clean Gomti. For the first times dredgers are being used to clean river bed. Gomti’s flow has been diverted and to increase its flow water from Sharda river is being poured into Gomti,” he said. The total project is of 656 crore. The construction is being carried by Gammon India.