Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh): Adjoining the fetid Kukrail Nala or open drain in the heart of Lucknow is Akbar Nagar, a working class settlement home to about 2,000 families.
For several months, residents of Akbar Nagar have lived in fear of losing their homes, as the city’s municipal authorities seek to demolish the settlement for a proposed riverfront project.
On 29 May 2023, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed officials of several departments and government agencies such as the Lucknow Development Authority, the Nagar Nigam or the municipal body, the department of urban development, the Jal Nigam, and the forest and environment department to prepare a report on the revival of the Kukrail river, which runs 25 km from the Kukrail forest before emptying into the Gomti river, carrying with it waste from the neighbouring residential areas.
Adityanath also instructed the agencies to study “how encroachment can be removed from the catchment area of the river”.
In August 2022, the state government passed a proposal to establish India’s first night safari in Kukrail forest, taking inspiration from Singapore, and to construct a riverfront plaza along the Kukrail Nala, including a jogging track, butterfly park, fishing facilities, rainwater harvesting systems, and a ghat or steps to the river especially for prayers during the annual Chhat Puja festivities.
This story was originally published in article-14.com. Read the full story here.
