Hope floats as project to clean Gomti is set to start

However,the impact on the pollution level in the river and the change in its surroundings will be visible only by July because the formation of a sludge blanket,where the filtered water is treated in anaerobic conditions,will take at least four months.

The Gomti,which is a tributary of the Ganga,originates from the Gomat Taal in Pilibhit and meets the Ganga in Ghazipur after traversing 900 km. Besides Lucknow,it supplies drinking water to 14 other towns located on its banks. These include Lakhimpur Kheri,Sultanpur and Jaunpur. The river also performs the job of recharging groundwater all along its path. While each of these towns pollutes the river,the condition is the worst in Lucknow where certain stretches of the river look like a drain where mosquitoes and other insects breed.

Chief Environmental Engineer of the UP Pollution Control Board Swaminath Ram said the standard level of dissolved oxygen in Gomti should be above 4 mg per litre. The level is 7 mg per litre at Gaughat where the river enters the city,and is almost nil at the Gomti barrage. Ram said the situation becomes particularly bad in summer when the water level decreases,and also in the rainy season when large amount of sewage,accumulated in drains,reaches the river in bulk. Since the city’s sewage is the main culprit,the STP is expected to bring about a big improvement in the river.

During the process of sewage treatment,the STP will produce 400 cubic metre methane gas per hour which will generate 1,200-1,500 KW power that will be used to run the plant.