Atal was always worried about Gomti

LUCKNOW: The deteriorating condition of the Gomti was always a matter of great concern to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who used to describe the river as the ‘lifeline’ of Lucknow, recalls Vajpayee’s protégé and ex-urban development minister of UP Lalji Tandon.

“Atal ji would often say the city of Lucknow would be in a serious crisis if the Gomiti was not saved,” Tandon said adding, “This was only because of his inspiration that the project to clean Gomti was started in 1997-98 and which gradually turned into a public movement.”

“Ironically, ₹1,800 crore have been spent on the beautification of the Gomti by the successive governments but the condition of the river has only gone from bad to worse since,” he regretted. Cleaning of the Gomti, according to him, would be the befitting tribute to Vajpayee who represented Lucknow as its MP for five terms.

According to Tandon not only was Vajpayee instrumental to the launch of the Gomti action plan but the foundation of most of the development projects that had come up in the city now was also laid during his tenure as the prime minister.

“Shahid Path, flyovers, over-bridges, underpasses, four-lane roads within the city, the Gomti Nagar railway station and scientific convention centre etc are all Atalji’s gifts to the city,” he emphasized.

“One can imagine the situation of traffic in the city had the Shahid Path not been there today,” Tandon pointed out.

According to him the former Prime Minister was closely associated with Lucknow from the prime of his life making the city his ‘karma-bhoomi’ for decades. “As a young sangh pracharak Atal ji used to live in Lucknow and also worked as a journalist editing several newspapers and magazines here. He was the foundereditor of the ‘Rashtra Dharma’, a Hindi monthly magazine still published from Lucknow,” he said.

Atal ji was liberal about his food habits and would eat anything -veg or non-veg -that was available. “He would often prepare khichri himself on a stove he used to have in a rented room here when he was not able to have proper food due his being busy in Sangh’s activities,” Tandon recalled.

The former Prime Minister, according to Tandon, was bachelor by choice. “There was a rule in the Sangh then that pracharaks will be fully dedicated to the organization with no family life. Later in 1950, the rule was, however, relaxed allowing pracharaks to have families. Many pracharaks got married but Atal ji chose to be a life-time bachelor dedicating himself fully to the organization and the party,” he said.

Tandon said he knew Atal ji since 1945 when he (Tandon) was 12 years and found the latter to be an amazing person always. “All known great people are known by one prominent quality but Atalji had a multi-faceted personality and excelled as an RSS volunteer, journalist, poet, orator and politician. He leaves an inedible print on heart and mind of the people,” said Tandon.

CLEANING OF THE GOMTI, ACCORDING TO TANDON, WOULD BE THE BEFITTING TRIBUTE TO VAJPAYEE WHO REPRESENTED LUCKNOW AS ITS MP FOR FIVE TERMS.