Akhilesh Yadav attempts to counter Modi's Clean Ganga mission, promises to clean up Gomti before 2017 UP elections
Realising that cleaning up of the Ganges will become an important issue during the Assembly elections, the chief minister and his coterie came up with the Gomti project, ostensibly to offset the prime minister's high pitch.
It's politics of 'clean up' in Uttar Pradesh which has been unleashed by Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi going full throttle to clean up river Ganges, the chief minister has now decided that he too needs to showcase his concern for a clean river - but not the Ganges. Instead, Akhilesh is banking on river Gomti, which he has promised to clean up before the 2017 Assembly elections in the state.
Realising that cleaning up of the Ganges will become an important issue during the Assembly elections, the chief minister and his coterie came up with the Gomti project, ostensibly to offset the prime minister's high pitch.
'Impressive move'
Hoping that his 'Clean Gomti' mission will impress the citizens of the state, especially the residents of Lucknow, the chief minister has unveiled a `656-crore project to clean up the river. According to the chief minister's vision, the Gomti Riverfront Development Project in Lucknow will see cleaning and beautification of the river. Akhilesh announced that his government would clean 30 km of Gomti in the state capital. Cycle and tonga tracks shall be constructed along the river. Play grounds shall also be developed. The riverfront will also feature a green area with facilities to organise cultural programmes.
"The Gomti has a great history. It was used in the past for trading. However, no effort was made in the past to revive Gomti. But the Samajwadi Party government is committed to doing it, keeping in view Awadh's heritage," the chief minister said.
"Gomti's water gets polluted as the river enters Lucknow. This happens because of the drains that open up in the river. We shall ensure that it doesn't happen. We will have the best riverfront in future," Akhilesh added.
Akhilesh also promised that Gomti would be developed on the lines of Tama riverfront in Tokyo and river Okawa in Osaka city. He has also promised that Gomti would be linked to Sharda Canal in Mahdoiya and Atariya. "We will try to finish the works before 2017 elections," he had said.
Observers here point out that all these announcements have been made by Akhilesh just to counter the prime minister's 'Clean Ganges' mission. Interestingly, Akhilesh had once ridiculed the prime minister's project, saying: "Some people associate rivers with religion. But be it the Ganges or the Yamuna, they all are secular rivers. Their streams are socialist as they pass through the hamlets of all the castes and religions."
While serving as the chief minister, Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav had promised several times that he would ensure the cleanliness of Gomti. But nothing really happened. Will it change this time?
About 23 drains carrying domestic and industrial effluent open up in Gomti without passing through the sewage treatment plant in Bharwara. Uttar Pradesh PWD Minister Shivpal By Piyush Srivastava in Lucknow Singh Yadav said, "The sewage treatment plants work only when we inspect them. Otherwise, they don't work. This doesn't help in cleaning up a river. We have decided not to tolerate such attitude of the officers."
However, all these promises have not impressed the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party. Uttar Pradesh BJP spokesperson Vijay Bahadur Pathak said, "Three units of the Bharwara sewage treatment plant were ready in 2011. The garbage treatment plant in Shivari was also ready three years back. Akhilesh has been the chief minister since March 2012. But he didn't do anything about Gomti since then. Like the Ganges, the Gomti should also be clean. But Akhilesh will suffer in 2017 because of his habit of politicising every issue."