UTTAR PRADESH: Like many rivers of yore, the Tamsa once flowed to its glory in Ayodhya. The Tamsa finds a mention in the epic Shri Ramcharitmanas written by Goswami Tulsidas-ji. It is believed that Lord Ram spent the first night of his 14-year exile period on the banks of this river, and that Valmiki and other saints also found abode here.
Over the millennia, it went dry under the weight of pollutants and environmental decay. Good news is it is throbbing back to life, thanks to former Ayodhya district magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha. The Union Ministry of Jalshakti gave the officer the first prize for ‘best district-level revival of the river, North in 2019.’ He was also a recipient of the Award of Excellence at Water Innovation Summit, 2020.
“Today, the river is around 2-m deep and was even flooded during the recent monsoon,” says Jha, a 2009 batch IAS officer of UP cadre. Now, the Tamsa that originates from village Lakhnipur in Ayodhya, flows for about 151 km. Its total passage covers 10 blocks, 77 gram panchayats and 82 villages of Ayodhya.
“In the course of time, the silt brought by floodwater and garbage thrown into it, almost devoured the Tamsa. Rising population led to encroachment into the river channels, choking it completely for 25 km near its origin,” says Jha. The Ayodhya authorities took up the rejuvenation project with local community support when Anil Kumar Pathak was the Ayodhya DM in 2019. “He was transferred before the project could take off. By the grace of god and team work, we completed the project in a year,” says Jha.
Jha said prior to the river’s restoration, the authorities had to take into account the encroachment along the 25-km course of the river where farming was on and dwelling units had come up. The silt had blocked the river. “We started the restoration process in all 10 blocks. Thousands of labourers from villages through which the river passes were engaged in various restoration projects,” said Jha.
“The entire river channel was demarcated using revenue maps and visual inspections by technical assistants and engineers,” added Jha. The experts identified encroachments and began the process of complete desilting, which increased the river depth and width by 1.5-2 metres. The funds for the work came through NREGA and State Finance Commission.
“The labour cost came via MGNREGA. All encroachments were removed and farmers rehabilitated,” says Jha. The engineers had to use big iron nets on the drains to prevent the discharge of polluted material into the river. They banned polythene in the adjoining villages.
Around 103 drains connected to the Tamsa are free of silt. To aid the groundwater recharge, around 108 ponds in the catchment area and nearby were revived. Over 2 lakh saplings were planted of which 1,23,000 were by MGNREGA and 75,000 were planted by the forest department. Given its religious importance, efforts are on to develop ashrams along its banks.