Gomti River Basin's Green cover is depleted and replaced by farms and concrete jungle

Statistics as per 2011 satellite survey

Gomti's identity has been put under threat due to slap dash deforestation and its regular transformation into concrete jungle of houses and buildings. Recent statistics of satellite images suggest that greenery in Gomti basin has below than the state's average plantation 9.01% to 4.10%.

Acoording to Assistant professor and Environmentalist Dr.venkatesh Dutta, Babasaheb bhimrao ambedkar university, Gomti basin had dense forestry but now 30,280 sq meters of the basin has farms and houses instead of forest. Due to deforestation, its water sources and associated rivers have dried. It is the cutting of trees that has dried the water source and river has dries from it's origination point.

Except pilibhit and Kheeri, the state of plantation is very poor in the state and needs to be increased thrice, to 12%. On the basis of 2011 satellite image data, distribution of gomti basin land usage is: Agriculture 65.5%, forest cover 4.10%, Populated 12.3%, vacant land 9.5%, Barren land(improvable) 3%, barren land (Non-improvable) 2.5%, grazing land 0.98% and water resources 2.10%. The ongoing Gomti river front development project has also dented the gomti river basin massively whose consequences will be felt few years later.

Suggesting the suitable ways in conserving the river basin, he said:

Planting trees in farm lands: Assistant forest conservation officer Radhakrishna Dubey say that , the gomti basin land in very fertile. This is a reason people are cutting trees to convert it to farm lands. The only way to promote plantation in these lands is to promote farmers to plant fruit bearing trees. It is seen that farmers, due to lack of finances don't prefer activities that dont result money. But if govt.can educate them to plant fruit bearing trees, it will be helpful to them.  

River basin should be declared reserved forest: According to Dr.Venkatesh, Gomti river basin has several illegal encroachments that needs to be freed. Trees like Peepal, Bargad, Paakad,Kadam, Neem, etc should be planted so that it can hold the soil together.

River Basin and Features of River basin

River Basin: A river basin is a land that water flows across or under on its way to a river. A river basin (or 'catchment') is the entire area drained by a river, including its tributaries. A river basin drains all of the land around a major river. Basins is divided into watersheds, or areas of land around a smaller river, stream, or lake. On its way, water travels over the surface of the land across farm fields, lawns, and city streets, or it seeps into the soil and travels as groundwater. Large river basins are made up of many smaller watersheds.Experts say that everyone lives in a river basin and It is part of our ecological address. Experts agree that the best approach to conserving the world's freshwater resources is through managing river basins' sustainability. You can change what happens in your river basin, for good or bad, by how you treat the natural resources – the soil, water, air, plants and animals. Even if you don’t live near a river, you still impact your river basin. Few features are:

• Any activity that takes place in a river basin (e.g. disposal of waste water, cutting of forests) has impacts downstream.

• River basins are important from hydrological, economic and ecological points of view. They absorb and channel the run-off from snow-melt and rainfall which, when wisely managed, can provide fresh drinking water as well as access to food, hydropower, building materials (e.g. reeds for thatching), medicines and recreational opportunities.

• They also form a critical link between land and sea, providing transportation routes for people, and making it possible for fish to migrate between marine and freshwater systems.

• By acting as natural 'filters' and 'sponges', well-managed basins play a vital role in water purification, water retention and regulation of flood peaks.

• As water moves downstream, it carries and leaves behind gravel, sand, and silt.In many parts of the world, seasonal flooding remains the key to maintaining fertility for grazing and agriculture.