10,000 ponds may hold the key to Gomti’s rejuvenation

Environmentalists say reviving the Gomti river requires restoring nearly 10,000 ponds, lakes and wetlands within a two-kilometre ecological radius of the Gomti and its tributaries.

These water bodies once stored monsoon rain, recharged groundwater, reduced floods and sustained the river's base flow during dry months.

Encroachment, silt accumulation, urbanisation and neglect have disrupted the natural hydrological system.

Around 4,000 ponds are in Hardoi and Shahjahanpur, 2,000 each in Lakhimpur Kheri and Sitapur, and 1,344 in Lucknow within the river corridor.

Experts call for restoring wetlands, removing encroachments, improving sewage treatment and regulating groundwater extraction to prevent an ecological crisis.