When Osaka comes to Lucknow

Raghunath Lakhpat is a terrified man. He can only watch warily as the land on either side of his modest home is being dug up by huge earthmovers. “We are stuck in the middle. Sooner or later, we will have to leave. But where will we go? What will we eat?” he asks helplessly.

Raghunath, his wife, and two sons are just one of the approximately 2000 families that live and earn their living along the banks of the Gomti in Lucknow. They are laundry workers, and are dependent on access to clean, flowing water to carry out their trade. For several years now, they have looked on and worried as the Gomti became increasingly polluted. Now, it appears that their access to the river will also be taken away.

When the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav, advised the Minister for Irrigation, Shivpal Singh Yadav to clean up the Gomti, Yadav looked east for inspiration. Following a visit to Osaka, Japan, Yadav began work on developing the urban riverfront of the Gomti along its Lucknow stretch. So far, this has meant massive construction along the banks of the Gomti, threats to the livelihoods of the many laundry workers in the city, and diversion of water from the the Sarda river to the Gomti. Copying the Osaka model riverfront development on the banks of the Gomti is myopic in the conceptual stage itself because unlike in Japan or any other developed countries, in India, there is great human dependence of waterbodies like rivers and lakes for sustenance.  

The problem with copying the Osaka model

Studies and anecdotal evidence collected from India's rivers attest to the astonishing diversity of ways in which communities depend on healthy instream flows. These communities are often poor and marginalised with few real options for alternative occupations independent of the river.

The Gomti riverfront development

Robbing Peter to pay Paul

In 2013, India Water Portal had met some groups demanding Sarda-Gomti water transfer. We had then exposed the political motivations behind the demand to make the river perennial at its source, and the unsustainable nature of the proposed transfer.

In this case, water from the Sarda is being brought directly to the already-perennial middle reaches of the Gomti. River Sarda is not just expected to irrigate lands in UP and add to the Gomti's flow, but also supply water to the Yamuna. The Sarda's water is already running short and is supplemented by the Ghaghra river via the Sarda Sahayak project.

'We could manage with tanks'

Publicly available information about the riverfront development project does not indicate any plans being made for the relocation of these people; they are not even acknowledged on the website.

Concepts that work

When India looks to other countries for ways to manage resources better, we need to make sure that we are not repeating mistakes made earlier. The website for the Gomti riverfront cites the Danube as one of its inspirations. It, however, neglects the fact that the countries on the lower Danube are actively working to dismantle existing flood management infrastructure and restoring the floodplains of the river. Doing so, Europe has realised that it could "improve the natural capacity to retain and release floodwaters and remove pollutants, enhance biodiversity, and strengthen local economies through diversification of livelihoods based on natural resources".

Our riverfront development models, too, must recognise the people's need for access to natural resources. Rather than focusing on beautifying riverfronts, urban planners need to take into consideration the role that rivers play in the lives of the poor in our country. A WWF-led study on Ramganga established that the greatest diversity of river-dependent livelihoods was to be found in an urban setting-in this case, when it flows through Moradabad. Urban agriculture, livestock farming, laundry are just a few of the activities that the banks of Gomti support within the Lucknow city limits.

In the case of the Gomti at Lucknow, a riverfront development project that is attuned to the needs of both the river and of people should include sufficient quantity of water to carry away waste, improved quality so it can support fish, a place for people to promenade, and access to the river for those dependent on it for livelihoods.

Rather than trying to duplicate Osaka in Lucknow, it is essential to develop an indigenous model that understands local needs.