Lucknow: ‘Will continue our ‘Satyagrah’ till earthen dam near Kudiya Ghat is removed’

Spearheading the efforts to get the dam removed is ‘Hamari Gomti Hamara Gaurav’ - a citizen-led campaign that seeks to sensitise and mobilise Lucknowites, and persuade the government to develop a roadmap for Gomti’s rejuvenation and accord it the ‘state river’ status.

Voices to get the earthen dam near Kudiya Ghat removed are growing louder. Experts say the dam, built during the riverfront beautification project, is obstructing the flow of Gomti, leading to a build-up of pollutants and causing an adverse impact on the quality of water at Gau Ghat intake.

Activists and citizens gathered at Kudiya ghat to clean the Gomti. The earther dam was built to check the flow of the river but was not removed. (Deepak Gupta/HT Photo)

Spearheading the efforts to get the dam removed is ‘Hamari Gomti Hamara Gaurav’ - a citizen-led campaign that seeks to sensitise and mobilise Lucknowites, and persuade the government to develop a roadmap for Gomti’s rejuvenation and accord it the ‘state river’ status.

This Sunday, a group of citizens gathered at Kudiya Ghat, demanding the removal of the earthen dam. Dutta explained that during the riverfront beautification project, thousands of geo-synthetic sandbags were dumped into Gomti’s main channel to check its flow.

“Now that the bridge at Kudia Ghat and the diaphragm walls on both sides of Gomti have been completed, the dam serves no purpose except choking up the river, creating a sort of artificial pond. The irrigation department had promised that the dam would be removed once the diaphragm walls were completed,” said Dutta.

“Due to pollutant logging, the river oxygen level has dipped to almost nil levels, tremendously revving up the need for biological oxygen. In addition, sediments from the dam get transported downstream, which is causing a great sustained environmental impact,” he added.

Dutta said that in the coming days the campaign would reach out to more citizens, especially students and youths. “For this, a series of talks by river scientists and environmentalists, and other awareness generating activities will be organised,” he said.

Farrukh Rahman Khan, regional manager, WaterAid India, said, “There are direct and indirect impacts on the biological, chemical and physical properties of a river and its ecosystem. For example, the transformation of a free-flowing river to stagnant water will affect the habitat. Damming also brings about changes in the river’s chemical composition, oxygen levels and other physical properties. All this together can make Gomti unsuited to aquatic life.”

“If forests and trees function as lungs for the city, water bodies serve as arteries. Together, they keep the ecosystem healthy,” Khan added.