Indore is all set to get a city-centric riverfront on ‘forgotten’ river Kahn!
After Ahmedabad and Lucknow, Indore is set to clean its inline city stream Kahn that turned into a sewage line, and develop its city centered riversides as a dedicated River Front. For more information on this, do read the whole story.
River Front: A need or a deed?
Before informing anything about the development of River Front on Kahn, anything that comes in mind is that “What is the need of developing a river front in such an intense area with loads of traffic and frustration due to it?, why not broaden roads to reduce traffic?”
Well, the public is priority, If seen logically, there are several requirements!
Indore is the cleanest city in India as per Swatchata Sarvekshan. But anyone who passes through Rajwada, which is the most central region of Indore, gets to know that the inline river of Indore – Kahn, which is no more than a sewage stream now. Rapid industrialization and growth exploits natural resources up to a great extent, which is a serious issue.
What it would be like if you have a clean peripheral city, A1 waste management, class 1 roads, public toilets all over the city, but still the central river is polluted like a dumping ground in the middle of a palace. That is the primary reason for developing a river front. Rivers are treated as Mother in India as river’s sustain life and maintains the habitat of the place, and they should not be polluted anymore.
“Indore cannot get decorated with the cleanest city status until the Kahn river is reinstated.”
Other Prospects of having a river front:
There are many advantages of having a river front:
- If seen from tourism point of view, it would be a must visit place for tourists as well as localized as the city loves the Rajwada Fort, and will surely visits its banks if clean and lushy to watch.
- If thinking socially, it would be the city’s pride as a only few metro’s have a dedicated river front and will set an example before everyone to “get in the mess and start cleansing the surroundings instead of just criticizing.”
- If seen strategically, apart from being just a tourist place, it would be a new location for Indorians, and will create market revenue as well as opportunities, like in Lucknow and Ahmedabad, which had a market’s nearby a river front, thus, the visitors uplifts their mood in the river front and visits nearby market as well.
- If taken Psychologically, it will reduce agitation and frustration of people due to busy and tensed roads which initiates a chain reaction of mood uplift, which definitely affects the market.
What lead to the degradation of Kahn river?
Indore being the largest and most populous city of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh is the commercial capital for exchange of goods and services, and recently many big and small scale industries have set up their operations in the city. Since the mid-19th century, Indore has seen rapid industrial and population growth, which no doubt increased sewerage flow in the Kaahn River, affecting the condition of the river drastically. More than 100 industrial units have been polluting Kahn river since decades. Also, setting up of slum area’s beside the river has affected the perquisite habitat which is hard to change now. But after so long, the Indore Municipal Corporation has taken a significant and determined decision to clean and rejuvenate the stream and develop a riverfront on it, which is appreciable.
Project description:
The Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) has started riverfront development work of Kahn River which is a key initiative of the city in making Indore a Smart City. The first phase of development of riverfront would be done from Rambagh Bridge to Krishnapura. In the second stage, the stretch from Jawahar Marg to Gangaur Ghat is planned for renovation. The scope of the work includes:
- Construction of retaining walls and dredging of riverbed along 3.9 km of riverfront
- Development of landscaping and open spaces
- Development of City-level recreational space
- Development of Fruits & Vegetables Market to accommodate shops/ hawkers in the area
- Development of adequate parking areas
Benefits to Indore:
Once the construction works are completed, the following are benefits are expected:
- Restoration/ visual improvement of the riverfront
- Preventing entry of sewerage into the river
- Creation of a city-level recreational area
- The enhanced opportunity of the riverfront for tourism purpose
“This data is provided by The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, this is only tentative data available, actual parameters may change afterward.”
After the riverfront develops completely, it can be said that no major unclean stuff is left to be considered for rejuvenation in the City. Ultimately “Cleanliness is next to Godliness.”
We should make our Indore; divine as much that, it becomes God’s own city.
