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Kukrail river will be brought to life before night safari: Yogi
Uttar Pradesh welcomed 48 crore tourists last year, with most visitors drawn to spiritual tourism; eco-tourism also has vast scope in the state, says chief minister
LUCKNOW Chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday emphasised that Kukrail river, which was encroached upon and converted into a nullah over the years, will be brought alive even before the night safari comes up in Kukrail.
“Kukrail river was a tributary of the Gomti. But people made it a nullah by encroaching upon it. We will bring it alive,” said the CM addressing the eco-tourism conference at Indira Gandhi Pratishthan here.
He said, “Encroachments in 40 years posed a challenge to Kukrail river’s existence and the environment. We removed encroachments and rehabilitated those eligible. You can now observe that despite summer, the natural aquifers on the riverbed have started opening after the removal of encroachments,” said the CM.
Adityanath highlighted UP’s status as the tourism heartland of the country with immense potential and said that last year, the state welcomed 48 crore tourists last year, nearly double its population, with most visitors drawn to spiritual tourism.
“In 2023, Kashi alone saw over 10 crore tourists. Following the construction of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya after 500 years, tourist numbers have increased manifold, with an average of 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh tourists to Ayodhya daily,” he said, adding that heritage and eco-tourism also had a lot of scope in UP.
He also said that the airstrip in Lakhimpur will be developed as an airport. “We have an airstrip in Lakhimpur, and we are working to develop it as an airport,” said Adityanath.
Forest department officials, including Sunil Chaudhary, SK Sharma, Sanjay Srivastava and Lalit Verma, gave presentations on various schemes and eco-tourism opportunities in UP.
The LDA had recently cleared encroachments from 10 lakh sq ft area at Akbar Nagar, paving way for an eco-tourism hub along Kukrail river.
“Now, the riverfront will be developed. Dashauli village near Bakshi ka Talab is considered to be the Kukrail river’s origin, so it will be developed from there. Also, the area will be beautified by interlinking all the ponds in the area,” a government press note read.
Efforts to revive Kukrail river first began with a survey being conducted in 2023 after CM Yogi Adityanath instructed that it be turned into a hub of eco-tourism.
In December 2023, the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) began removing illegal constructions by razing mostly commercial establishments on both sides of the river.
The UP government also proposed Kukrail-like action across Uttar Pradesh to free river basins and water bodies from encroachers.
‘Over 5K families are Ganga Prahari’
Over 5,000 families in 105 districts of various states in India living along the banks of Ganga are now ‘Ganga Prahari’ who earn from eco-tourism while protecting the river and its eco-system, said Ruchi Badola, scientist and dean, Wildlife Institute of India (WII), who is heading the Ganga Project at WII.
“We conducted a survey along Ganga banks and found that 50% of the river has the best water quality and aquatic life. Based on our data, we designed Jalaj, a project connecting people with river conservation. This has brought 5,000 families who earn livelihood and protect the river,” she added.
Badola said linking conservation and livelihood resulted in best practices and opportunities like eco-tourism, dolphin safari, homestay, health and wellness centre, rejuvenation retreat, training and production centre, etc.
Jalaj has an objective to train communities residing along the Ganga basin in sustainable livelihood and link local economy with biodiversity. “We have developed 75 Jalaj centres and have got results. Now, Namami Ganga is giving us more work in other rivers too,” she said.
