E-Paper
Man on a mission to conserve Gomti; completes over 300Km yatra
Sushil Sitapuri, 59, is on a mission to collect cultural evidence of the Gomti River for conservation, having traveled over 300 km since 2019.
A writer-cum-journalist, Sushil Sitapuri, 59, born in Qila Pandarwa - a village in Hardoi district, is on a mission to collect cultural evidence related to the river Gomti that can help in conservation of the waterbody. It was in 2019 that he had started his Gomti Yatra and completed over 300 kms till date.
“After my initial education in my village, I completed intermediate from Sitapur. I did my graduation and post-graduation from Allahabad University and began working in Lucknow. Knowing well about the cultural importance of Gomti, in 2019, I suddenly thought of going on a yatra around this river to understand its cultural significance and promote it among people. I thought it was a way to promote conservation,” said Sitapuri.
He shared that several melas are being organised across the course of the river Gomti. “I started from Madhotanda – the place near Pilibhit where the river originates. I go along the river for about 15-20 days and return home with certain new information related to the water body. I have seen the water body take various forms from being dried up in over six-gram panchayats of Pilibhit,” said Sitapuri who is also president of an NGO Sewa Sadan which is carrying out the yatra.
“My friends and I are also getting conservation work done for a natural water source near my village at Dhobiya Ashram, Hardoi which is considered as one of the key sources that help in proper drainage of river Gomti,” said Sitapuri.
