Lucknow: In its effort to clean the Gomti river, govt used drones to carry out a survey and identified 45 drains discharging into the river.Work is now underway on a plan to connect these drains to different sewage treatment plants (STPs) to ensure treatment of the sewage reaching the river through them. As per data shared by the State Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission, the estimated population of Lucknow city is around 45.56 lakh in 2026, with approximately 7.52 lakh homes. Of these, about 4.01 lakh homes or 53.32% are connected to the sewerage network. Discharge of sewage is around 880.70 million litres per day (MLD), of which 690.33 MLD flows through drains and 190.71 MLD flows through the sewer network.“In this context, expanding the sewerage network and stopping the polluted water from reaching the Gomti through drains is a major challenge for river conservation,” said executive director of the State Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission Joginder Singh. The city has 10 STPs to treat its sewage, which have a combined capacity of 629.5 MLD, much less than the actual discharge.Lucknow Municipal Corporation records show that there are 33 drains discharging into the Gomti river through its 33-km journey through Lucknow. The drone survey has identified 12 more drains discharging into the river. At present, there are now 28 drains, with a combined discharge of about 260 MLD, that need to be tapped.Under the Namami Gange Programme, a 39 MLD STP was completed on Nov 4, 2024. Work is underway to tap one drain and treat 3.5 MLD of its discharge at the Barikalan STP. This project is slated for completion by Oct 2026. Two other untapped drains and one partially tapped drain are to be connected to the 50 MLD Loniyapurwa STP. This project is targeted for completion by June 2027.As per comprehensive action plan for the integrated rejuvenation of the Gomti River sent to the National Mission for Clean Ganga in May 2026, STPs are to be constructed at Basantkunj, Wazirganj, Jiyamau, and Neelmatha. Nature-based technology will be used at the Mastemau drain and modular STPs will be set up at Pipraghat and Ghaila. The Bharwara STP will be upgraded and repairs will be carried out in the 19 drains connected to it.
