Gf MONGABAY Mongabay Series: Environment and Elections After pollution, riverfront development chokes Lucknow's Gomti “+ Gomti river faces multiple challenges Jn Lucknow fram sewage pollution to (groundwater extraction, “+ The Uttar Pradesh government planned riverfront development ta deal with pollution but cchannelisation has adversely Impacted the river ecology, says @ recent study ‘+ From eight fish habitats in Gomt ‘only two can be found in the riverfront stretch There was a time one could see a coin lying fn the river bed. We would drink directly from the river while working here, till 15-20 years back. Today, you can't even look at it” says Siyaram Nishad glumly, while fencing his Farm fon the banks of Gomti river in the northern Indian state of Utter Pradesh. "Dead fish routinely come to the surface but there is no tend to dumping of the city’s wastewater, Gomti has no life now.” Nishad narrates @ ‘common grievance about many rivers in India which nourish cities and haul their waste back to the seas. In the state capital Lucknow, another dimension can be seen, of concrete taking aver the water and insulating the city from its cure‘The riverfront development, initiated by the U.P. government between 2015 and 2017 in Lucknow, ‘out the city’s waste. The project has changed hycraulic regimes leaking to loss of river processes (nttps://www:researchgate.net/publication/326698741_Impact_of_river_channelization_and_rive last year by researchers from the Lucknow-based Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University. Additionally, the Gomti river has eight types of fish habitats but the researchers found only two habitats in the stretch where the riverfront has been developed. Gomti and Lucknow Gomti is an alluvial river thet originates from the lower Himalayas around 30 km east of Pit town in Uttar Pradesh, Fed by rain and ‘groundwater, itis an important source of water supply to cities of Lucknow, Jaunpur, and several towns and villages before it joins the Ganga near Varanasi, contributing 7.39 billion cubic metres of water every year to it. In Lucknow, the river used to sustain several ‘activities. Buffaloes, goats snd horses shared the grazing space on its banks, fishers drew their nets, boalmen ferried tourists, ahabis (cloth washers) dug basins and affixed rocks, landless farmers tilled its floodplains and religious fairs supported vendors. The Gomt 2 tbutaryof Ganga sed to sustain mony cls in Lucero. Pray Mar Mou Monsoons would also occasionally lead to massive flooding that deposited loads of sand ‘on its banks which locals would carry away on mules. In 1970s, embankments came up near the banks to prevent flood water from entering the city. The city, however, ballooned and centered the floodplains ‘The total land area of the city increased (nttp://wvew.ijhssi org’ papers/v4(5)/Version- 2/80452011020.pa) by 60% from 1987 to 2005, "A large section of Gomti Nagar is located within the flood plain” said V. K. Joshi, former director of Geological Survey of India, Lucknow. “The river which used to deposit fertile silt on Its floodplains now finds no space to carty out its natural functions.” Over the years, silt has been deposited over the river bed which has risen by L5 metres ‘compared to the level in 1960.Embankments have also Interrupted the natural drainage of the city and rainwater, instead of flowing towards the river, inundating the habitations. “If we get heavy rains, like the kind seen in Chennai in 2015, Lucknow will P Joshi predicted. Increase in population also led to greeter extraction ‘of water from the river and underground aquifers besides the greater amount of pollution with 27 drains dumping the city’s sewage into the river today. Groundwater levels declined to the extent of 0.5 m to, 1.0 m per year in most of the city area due to increased tubewell and borewell connections since 2005, said a report (tip //upgwd gov. in/MediaGallery/Lucknowcity.pafiby the Uttar Pradesh State Groundwater Department, On the other hand, dumping of municipal and construction waste on the river banks added to the pollution. The Uttar Pradesh government responded to the pollution by initiating @ Rs. 15 billion (Rs. 1,500 crore} riverfront development from April 2015 to March 2017, The riverfront development spans around 17 km of the river hich includes @ riverside park that has become a popular recreational spot for the city residents. The project is on hold now after allegations of financial irregularities in its execution cropped up However, ecologists believe the project has instead further degraded the river." heavily reinforced diaphragm wall was built along the river that deprived the Gomti ofits catchment," said Venkatesh Duta, faculty at Department of Environmental Science, Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, and lead researcher of the study while talking to Mongabay-India, “Considering that it isa river fed by groundwater, this 16 metre deep wa Interrupts the base flow while channelisation ‘and concretisation filled up wetlands and ditches which used to host a variety of plants ‘and animals.” Fish catch, livelihoods suffer ‘The channeling also affected the meandering ‘character of the river in the 17 km stretch thus modifying sandoars and banks, all of which Used to host wild animals and plants In 2013-14, eight fish species were reported downstream of the riverfront site. The same site reported only one species with a substantial reduction in catch per unit after the riverfront development project, the study said, The total fish biomass in the downstream sites was about 85 percent less than in the rratural channel upstream, said the study. Buddhu Nishad, a fisherman who also grows vegetables on a small patch along the river, ssid only small fish could be seen in the river now and varieties seen earlier like Rohu and Katle have become rare. “We used to earn RS.200-300 daily from selling fish, Now we make ‘only around Rs. 100 and that too, not every day." ‘Due to absence of backwaters and sidearms with aquatic vegetation in a channelised river, the fish could only use the stabilised stony banks or shallow-slope gravel shorelines,” said Ajey Kumar Pathak, senior scientist at ICAR- National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, ‘who was part of the research team, “With the vertical diaphragm walls of the riverfront, however, the bank is gone and slope protile has also changed thus eliminating the potential fish habitat in the stretch” The development of Kuda Ghat has reduced the working {pac forthe vadtionel washers (hobs) of Lucknow The ‘umber of washers has aready ge dow from 3002 ‘round 60 Peto by Manu Moudei “The interceptor drains meant to prevent ‘sewage from going into the river remain Incomplete thus ensuring no respite on pollution levels. "The parks and all look very ‘good but nothing has improved for the river. Drains still dump wastewater into Gomti,” said Ranjeet Prasad, convener of Swachh Prayavaran Andolan Sena, a volunteer group that fishes out idots immersed in the river after Durga Punja and Ganesh Chaturthi, for their proper disposal on land. "Sewage treatment plants have been set up in the city, but they are not enough to deat with the huge ‘amount of wastewater Lucknow generates.” Kudiya Ghat, which lies upstream of the riverfront project, has been affected by dredging and construction of an earthen ‘embankment for construction of a new bridge ‘and laying of embankment walls, “All waste stagnates here and though devotees come here to pray andl take & dip, what they see is scum all around," saic| Jaal Singh while pushing his boat upstream in hope of a fish ‘catch. "We have seen turtles and gharial in this river, Nowhere to be seen now. While dairy farmers have been shifted out of the city, washermen are also fearing eviction, "The government has asked us to move to alocation around 10 kilometres from the city ‘area, That place has no water supply and we have to get borewells," said Mohammad Javed, ‘who has been working at Kudiye Ghet since he ‘was a teenager. "It is not feasible to work from a location that is so far because we have to regulary visit the markets to get orders and deliver washed clothes.” The number of ‘washers has already gone down from 300 to ‘around 60. ‘Development of Kudiya Ghat has reduced the working space for us. The area was full of sand and wikd vegetation earlier anc it was ‘easier to move around," said Mohini Devi, who comes to the ghat with her family to wash shamianas (decorative tents). "Now paths have been paved and parks laid out with fences and plantations.” Let it flow Riverfront development has always gathered criticism from environmentalists who blame concretisation for degradation of river ‘ecology, including habitat of wildlife and biodiversity. Adverse social Impact Is also evident as several families staying near the river or earning a livelihood through various ‘activities are displaced to favour real estate development. In India, the concept of riverfront development was popularised with Sabarmati riverfront in Ahmedabad, which involved the construction of @ concrete embankment wall for around 10 km. Water from the main Narmada canal was diverted into Sabarmati Developers have hailed it as @ role model for many rivers in India on the lines of the “Thames river in London and Seine in France. Several projects took off thereafter, including Godavari Riverfront Development at Nanded in Maharashtra, Patna Riverfront Development Project on Ganga and development of Gomti riverfront in Lucknow, besides similar development proposals for other rivers across Inia ‘Riverfront development in India is focussed ‘on taming the river and exploiting its land for commercial gains whereas other countries have already moved on to ecological designs which work around the river, not against it, said Veena Srinivasan who leads the Water, Land end Society Programme at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bengaluru. “The problem is we have kept disciplines of engineering and ‘ecology separate and thus lack an integrated ‘approach to infrastructure development,Jal Singh rons hs boa in the Black waters in hope of eh The Gomi river has eight types of fish hats but the searchers found ani two habits ithe stretch where there ‘Sriveront development Phat by Monu Mousgl In Netherlands, such an integrated approach has been adopted in the Room for the River (nttps://www-ruimtevoorderiviernVenglish/) programme. It involves the relocation of ‘embankments to let Rhine river reclaim its floodplains. A new channel, dug up to divert flood water, will create an island that will host ‘gardens and other recreational spaces. A floating restaurant has also been proposed on the river, Gomti riverfront, on the other hand, was an exercise in land reclamation. “An amount of Rs, 1500 crore was earmarked for the First phase of the project. IL completely ignored the technical report submitted by IIT Roorkee suggesting minimum disturbance to the “channel,” said senior journalist Mohammad ‘Tariq Khan who has been writing about the issue for several years. The 71-page technical report was submitted to Lucknow Development Authority (LDA) in 2013 when the authority was thinking of replicating the Sabarmati model. LDA dropped the plan later ‘and the irigation department picked it up but without considering suggestions of the technical report. ‘The report had recommended that river width not be reduced beyond 250 metres. “A 25 m wide pucca promenade at a natural surface level of the river may be developed along both the banks within 250 m wicth. A width of 200 rm of the river shall be kept mobile for facilitation of bed aggradation and degradation.” it sei, ‘The project design, however, stratjacketed Gomti, "River floodplain width was restricted to 240 m out of 450 m and clear waterway to 100125 m from the previous 250 m to reclaim ‘about 200 hectares of land upstream and downstream of Gort barrage," said Dutta“The authorities, however, deny any negative impact of the project on river ecology. "We have not come across any adverse report on the riverfront development project on Gomti said V. K, Rathi, head of irigation department, Lucknow. "We will study the research findings land take corrective measures if required The study led by Dutta recommends restoration of river banks and chennel ‘connectivity in a phased manner by removal of diaphragm wall and stabilisation of bank vegetation in the long run. “Eflorts should be ‘on restoring immediate river corridors such as wetlands and seasonal ditches that can improve base fows to the river,” it sai. ‘Around the worl, integroted aperach to infstacture ‘evelopment being used which combine the asp of ‘engineering ond ecotogy Photo by Manu Muda Pollution can be addressed through rejuvenation of the city's smaller water bodies like lakes and hich recharge groundwater and hence Feed Gomti during the non-monsoon season. According t city development plan (August 2008), Lucknow had 846 tanks and ponds, but most of them are ur stress, A CAG audit ¢ (ntips://cag.gov.in/sites/default/tles/audit_report_files/Uttar_Pradesh_City_6_201I_chap_3.p« released in 2011, mentioned that the majority of these could not be found due to land reclamation -Ineel and Buller Palace Lake were also found to be cesspools of garbage and sewage. "Colonies been built on most of the water bodies that could replenish the river, leaving litle scope for rejuvenation," said Joshi. “Most of us living in new areas of Lucknow have houses built on ponds lakes and these areas face flooding every monsoon.” Water has a strong memory. t can easily find its old home. Gomti river will also recover its {glory if allowed to flow unfettered CITATION Dutta V., et al. 2018). Impact of river ‘channelisation and riverfront development on fHuvial habitat evidence from Gomis River, a tributary of Ganges, India. Environmenta Sustainability. 118. Doi 10:1007/542398-018- 0016-0. re plined by At