Etah’s Ishan River gets rejuvenated

A tributary of the Ganga, Ishan River that flows near the town of in was fully clogged with polythene and plastics. Cleaning the river was a herculean task. Nevertheless, the task of rejuvenating the river was taken up by the District Magistrate of , Shri I. P. Pandey, by bringing together all government departments, political leaders and community through a massive mobilization drive.

This was reported by the Jal Shakti Abhiyan (JSA) team that recently visited the district to begin interventions for water conservation and rainwater harvesting; rejuvenation of traditional ponds and water bodies; reuse of borewell recharge structures; watershed development and intensive afforestation.

The team comprised Central nodal officer (CNO), Mr. Abhishek Singh, Secretary Agricultural Scientist Recruitment Board and Joint Secretary Department of Agriculture Research and Education; Block Nodal Officer (BNO), Mr. Murli Manohar Singh, Director, MHRD, and Technical Officer (TO), Mr. Jeetaram, Deputy Director, Central Water Commission, Delhi who visited Etah district in Uttar Pradesh from 5th to 7th July, 2019 as a part of JSA campaign.

The challenging yet transformative work was taken up by the people of Etah over a period of 2 weeks beginning on 22nd June, 2019. According to Mr. Abhishek Singh, the success of the project can be attributed to community participation and convergence of various schemes.

Ishan River flows from district in Uttar Pradesh and after traversing a distance of about 317.3 kms joins the Ganga in near . It covers a distance of about 57 kms in Etah district of UP.

The condition of the river had deteriorated owing to an overgrowth of Behaya - Ipomoea carnea - which grows on its own. It had completely submerged the river. The massive cleaning exercise was carried out along the stretch of the river by the community and district officials. Most of the work was done manually, in a mission mode.