Ganga comes back to revive Kanpur

Kanpur's revival prospects got a major boost as the sluice gates of the Ganga barrage were opened by Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav, to let the water flow into the main channel dug to bring the Ganga back to its main course. The city had been waiting for this for the past 40 years.

The city, which developed along the river Ganga in the 19th century, discovered that the river had changed its course and by 1963, it had drifted 4 km away from Kanpur.

The opening of the sluice gates means the river will once again start flowing along the ghats, reviving the economy and adding significance to the religious festivals.

The water scarcity in the city will now lessen and the storage capacity created at the barrage of 160 million litre per day is sufficient to meet the needs of a population of 73 lakh, a scenario projected for 2031. Immediately, a water treatment plant of 20 million litres a day, called the Ram Manohar Lohia Water Treatment Plant, has been established and more will come up.

The water table, which had fallen to dangerously low levels in recent years, will rise. This change will be felt from next year onwards, says T N Bansal, chief engineer, irrigation, UP.

Earlier the river had to be dredged continuously for the past 30 years to bring drinking water for the city dwellers.

A four-lane road has been constructed, which will connect the city to the Kanpur-Lucknow highway.

This will shorten the distance between the two major UP cities by about 20 km from places like the IIT.

This highway will pass along the proposed special economic zone, connecting it to both Lucknow and the Kanpur-Delhi highway.

An area of about 1,600 hectares (one hectare is about 2.5 acres) will be available for the development of a township, called Gangotri, in Kanpur, along the left bank of the Ganges.

Picnic spots and tourist centres are the next target, with restaurants and resorts to follow.

Lastly, a certain culture, which was gradually dying, will have a chance of revival. The tradition of beginning the day with a bath in the Ganges will now revive, giving spiritual satisfaction to those inclined.

But most importantly, the revival is expected to boost the industrialisation of city. This has the potential to transform Kanpur into one of the top industrial centres in the country which will not face any water shortage. This will also result in direct and indirect employment for about 100,000 people.

However, the project, which began in 1995 at an estimated cost of Rs173 crore, is now estimated to cost Rs 412.44 crore and is slated to be completed by June 2006. Bansal has cited the inclusion of the four-lane road bridge in the barage as the main reason for cost increase.

The barage, which was 8 metres broad, had to be stretched to 24 metres, he added. He also said the length increase resulted in a Rs 5 crore increase in cost. The rest of the cost escalation is due to the high costs of raw materials and labour.

The Barrage is 621 meters long with 30 gates of 18 meters each .The height of the Barrage and of the road is 120 meters and that of the water level is 113 meters.