Gomti River

Gomti River Gumti River
Gomti River at Lucknow
Location
Country	India
Physical characteristics
Source	Gomat Taal, MadhoTanda, Pilibhit, Uttar Pradesh
• location	Middle Ganga Plain
• coordinates	25°36′44″N 80°6′59.28″E / 25.61222°N 80.1164667°E / 25.61222; 80.1164667
• elevation	200 m (660 ft)
Length	960 km (600 mi)
Discharge
• location	Kaithi, Varanasi Uttar Pradesh
• average	234 m3/s (8,300 cu ft/s)
Basin features
Tributaries
• right	Sai

The Gomti, Gumti or Gomati River is a river flowing entirely within the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is a tributary of the Ganges.¹

The river, fed by monsoons and groundwater, begins its journey at the Gomat Taal, near Madhotanda, in Pilibhit district. It then reaches a confluence with the smaller Gaihaaee 20 kilometres (12 mi) from its origin. The Gomti is a narrow stream until it reaches Mohammadi Kheri, a tehsil of Lakhimpur Kheri district (about 68 kilometres (42 mi)from its origin), where it is joined by a number of tributaries, notably the Sukheta, Choha and Andhra Choha. By that point, the river is well-defined, with the Kathina tributary joining it at Mailani and Sarayan joining it at a village in Sitapur district. A major tributary is the Sai River, which joins the Gomti near Jaunpur. The Markandey Mahadeo temple lies at the confluence of the Gomti and the Ganges.

After flowing for 190 kilometres (120 mi) the Gomti enters Lucknow, meandering through the city for about 30 kilometres (19 mi) and supplying its water. In the Lucknow area, 25 city drains pour untreated sewage into the river. At the downstream end, the Gomti barrage converts the river into a lake.

In addition to Lucknow, Gola Gokaran Nath, Misrikh, Neemsar, Lakhimpur Kheri, Sultanpur Kerakat and Jaunpur, Zafarabad are the most prominent of the 20 towns in the river's catchment basin. The river cuts the Sultanpur district and Jaunpur in half, becoming wider in the city.

The Gomti enters Lucknow after travelling approximately 190 km from its source and meanders through the city for roughly 30 km.² Lucknow lies on both banks of the river; several historic ghats, bridges, and the Gomti Barrage are situated along this urban stretch. The river is wider and slower through the city, a characteristic that historically made it susceptible to flooding during heavy monsoon rainfall. The urban stretch is also the most polluted section of the river, receiving discharge from hundreds of municipal drains and industrial units.³

After leaving Lucknow, the river flows through Barabanki, Sultanpur, and Jaunpur. In Sultanpur and Jaunpur, the river becomes progressively wider as it receives additional tributaries. The Gomti joins the Ganga at Saidpur near Ghazipur, completing a course of approximately 960 kilometres (600 mi) entirely within Uttar Pradesh.

The Gomti basin receives water from several tributaries distributed across its left and right banks. The Sai River is the largest, draining an area of approximately 12,900 sq km, which is roughly 43 percent of the total Gomti basin catchment area.² Other significant tributaries include the Sarayan, the Kathina, the Gachai, the Jomkai, the Barna, the Chuha, and the Kalyani. Together these tributaries contribute substantially to the river's seasonal discharge, particularly during the monsoon months.

The Gomti is a perennial river, maintaining year-round flow from a combination of groundwater base flow, tributary inflows, and seasonal rainfall. Its flow regime is strongly seasonal. Dry-season discharge can drop to approximately 6 m³/s, while monsoon-season peaks can exceed 500 m³/s. The annual average discharge is approximately 234 cubic metres per second (8,300 cu ft/s).² The river's characteristic sluggishness during non-monsoon months results from its low gradient across the Indo-Gangetic Plain and limited direct catchment. The basin covers 17 districts of Uttar Pradesh, of which two are entirely within the basin and 15 partially so.²

The Gomti River supports a documented ichthyofauna of 76 fish species, comprising 70 native and 6 exotic species, belonging to 56 genera, 32 families, and 12 orders.⁴ Among the recorded species, 64 are classified as Least Concern under IUCN criteria, three as Vulnerable, and six as Near Threatened. Earlier surveys identified five species in the Endangered category.⁵

Deep pool habitats and meandering sections of the river support the highest species diversity, with up to 40 species recorded at a single favourable site.⁴ The upper reaches near Pilibhit and the lower reaches near Jaunpur retain comparatively greater biodiversity than the degraded urban stretch through Lucknow.

Over 60 percent of native fish species have disappeared from the urban stretch of the river, a decline attributed primarily to organic pollution from untreated sewage and industrial effluents, habitat degradation, and altered flow regimes.⁴ Six exotic fish species have established populations in the river: Common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella), Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Bighead carp (Hypophthalmichthys nobilis), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus), and North African catfish (Clarias gariepinus). The proliferation of these species poses further pressure on native fish populations.⁵

The river's margins, particularly in the upper basin, attract migratory waterfowl during the winter months. The seasonal wetlands formed by tributary inflows provide habitat for several species of wading birds.

The Gomti holds an important place in Hinduism. The Bhagavata Purana lists it among the five transcendental rivers of India.⁶ According to hindu belief and tradition preserved in the Puranas, the river is regarded as the daughter of the sage Vasishtha, born from his divine penance.⁷

Naimisharanya (Neemsar), a forest sacred site on the river's banks in Sitapur district, is mentioned in the Puranas, the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata. It is the location where, according to tradition, the Mahabharata was first narrated by Suta Goswami to an assembly of sages, and remains an active tirtha (pilgrimage destination). Sri Rama is said to have performed the Ashvamedha sacrifice on the banks of the Gomti. Several ghats along the river, particularly in Lucknow and Jaunpur, are used for ritual bathing and offerings. The Gomat Taal at the river's source is itself venerated as a sacred lake.⁷

The Gomti River is polluted at several points of its course through the 940-kilometre (580 mi) stretch of alluvial plains in Uttar Pradesh.⁸ The major sources of pollution are industrial waste and effluent from sugar factories and distilleries and residential wastewater and sewage.

The river and its tributaries, particularly the Kukrail Drainage,⁹ collect large amounts of human and industrial pollutants as they flow through an area comprising about 18 million people. High pollution levels threaten the Gomti's aquatic life. On 25 July 2008, the foundation stone of a 345-million-litre (91,000,000 US gal)-capacity sewage treatment plant was laid.¹⁰

The plant, promoted as Asia's largest, failed; in 2014 it was reportedly running at 10 percent of capacity,¹¹ and beyond the plant (near Bharwara) untreated sewage and solid waste entered the river. The plant was intended to intercept the 23 major natural drains entering the Gomti.

The Gomti has been stressed, particularly in and around Lucknow, for decades. There are three major reasons for this:¹²

1. Embankments - High embankments were built around the river to protect the population of Lucknow after a major flood during 1970s, altering the Gomti's natural floodplain.
2. Pollution - The Gomti has 40 natural drains, of which 23 are major. The drains, which carried surplus water into the river during the monsoon and recharged the underground water table, were reduced to carry residential and industrial sewage into the river.
3. Development - The river's floodplains and fertile land were covered with residential areas, such as Gomti Nagar and Triveni Nagar. The Gomti began receding during the late 1970s, and was under major stress in 2016.¹²

Although government agencies planned major projects, such as the Bharwara sewage treatment plant and mechanical dredging, most were unsuccessful.¹³ The Gomti rises by 10–12 meters during the monsoon, and in 2008 a major flood was reported.¹⁴

Around 2012, the newly-elected government and the Lucknow Development Authority began a feasibility study with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee to build a river-front similar to Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad. The LDA submitted the report, warning about the negative consequences of reducing the Gomti to less than 250 meters wide. At 250 meters wide (with walls on both sides), the river's velocity would increase by 20 percent and its bed-shear stress by 30 percent. Current embankments would have to be raised by 1.5 meters, and the high flood level (HFL) would increase by 1.25 meters. Two bridges would be threatened with collapse under flood conditions.¹² The plan was given to the irrigation department, which signed a memorandum of understanding with IIT Roorkee in December 2015 to conduct a similar study on the project.¹⁵

The riverfront-development project is seen as a political showdown¹² between the state government and the ruling party, whose similar construction in Ahmedabad over the Sabarmati River has been projected as a showcase of development in the state of Gujarat. Many noted environmentalists and river-system experts vehemently opposed¹⁶ that project as well. Both projects are seen as a template for similar interference with river systems across India, including the Yamuna, the Hindon and the Varuna.¹²

Monsoon flooding leads to several problems when the water recedes, including the danger posed by drying potholes and pits (which host disease causing mosquitoes such as malaria and dengue).