Ghaghra water to quench city’s thirst

THE PROJECT The river will be connected with Gomti. Water would be brought to city through pipelines

Lucknowites will soon get drinking water from Ghaghra, which is known to be a flood-prone river. For this, a panel of former chief engineersers of Jal Sansthan has approvedd the project for connecting Ghaghrahra with river Gomti. Over the years,ears, there’s been a 30-40% reductiontion in Gomti’s water level.

LUCKNOW: Lucknowites will soon get drinking water from Ghaghra, which is known to be a flood-prone river.

For this, a panel of former chief engineers of Jal Sansthan has approved the project for connecting Ghaghra with river Gomti. Over the years, there’s been a 30-40% reduction in Gomti’s water level and the situation becomes worse in summers. It is during this period, the water supply is hit hard and the city requires some extra water from other channels.

To meet the growing water demand of Lucknow, water of Ghaghra would be brought to the state capital through pipelines, said mayor Dinesh Sharma. However, there would be discussions on whether these pipelines would be underground or above the surface.

The civic body has already sent the proposal to the state government for further approval to solve the water problem of the city. Rajeev Bajpai, general manager, Jal Sansthan said that Ghaghra, which originates from Nepal, is the most aggressive tributary of the Ganga.

It creates havoc in areas of Bahraich, Barabanki, and other areas.

This excess water of Ghaghra can be used for recharging the Gomti and supplying drinking water to the fast expanding Lucknow.

The panel comprising former chief engineers - Rajiv Tripathi, RPS Parihar, JS Kushwaha, GS Mishra and the present general manager and chief engineer Rajeev Bajpai - has given the green signal to the project after going through its pros and cons.

Sharma said the two rivers might be linked at Ramnagar in Barabanki because the distance between the two rivers is shortest at this point.

To recall Union home minister Rajnath Singh, who is also an MP from Lucknow, had set up a committee in June with the objective of improving Gomti’s health.

The main aim of the committee was to come out with ways and means of providing water to Gomti, said the mayor.

This project is on the lines of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s proposal to link rivers. Channelising Ghaghra’s excess water to Gomti will also help eastern UP minimise floods caused by the river in its catchment areas.

Sharma said the beauty of this project is that no one would be displaced, no one would suffer, people living in the catchment area of Ghaghra would be safer and it would be a win-win situation for everyone.