By Sundaram Tiwari
The Sai flows through seven districts of Uttar Pradesh before joining the Gomti at Trimuhani in Jaunpur. Despite its historical and cultural significance, the river remains largely unfamiliar to many people living along its banks. Its mention in the Ramcharitmanas stands in sharp contrast to the condition of several stretches today. Pollution, untreated drains, industrial discharge and the accumulation of waste along its banks have raised serious concerns about the river's condition. While the Sai has received attention from government institutions, political representatives and environmental initiatives, the challenge of ensuring sustained conservation remains. Understanding the river's condition and bringing it back into public discussion became the purpose of a 755-km padyatra that began on 12 January 2024.
From source to confluence
I began the journey with a puja at the river's origin at Panai ka Jhabar in Lakhimpur Kheri. From there, I walked along the Sai through Hardoi, Unnao, Lucknow, Raebareli and Pratapgarh before reaching Trimuhani in Jaunpur, where the river meets the Gomti. The journey covered the river's course across all seven districts and was completed in three phases. Although I undertook the walk alone, local residents joined me along different stretches. In every district, citizens came together to form teams and committees to support the initiative. The entire journey was self-funded, without sponsorship or institutional financial support. The intention was to keep the effort rooted in public participation rather than make it an initiative owned by any organisation.
Taking the river's story to its people
The padyatra was not limited to walking along the river. At different stops, I organised discussions with villagers, elders, students and local representatives to talk about the Sai, its history and the challenges facing it. According to the campaign's documentation, more than 85 dialogue programmes were organised in villages, schools and colleges, directly reaching over 10,000 people. Seven ghat-cleaning drives were also conducted. An important part of the initiative was taking the conversation about rivers to younger generations. Through the 'Aao Nadiyon Ko Jaanein' (Let Us Know Our Rivers) initiative, the campaign engaged students and educational institutions. More than 10,000 T-shirts carrying the campaign's message were distributed. A signature campaign was also organised to bring public representatives and officials into the conversation about the Sai's conservation. A single T-shirt travelled between offices to collect signatures from prominent individuals. The campaign was launched with the blessings of Ram Bahadur Rai, president of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts. Among those who signed were Ramesh Chand Pandey, IFS, Additional Director General at the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change; Gopal Arya of Paryavaran Sanrakshan Gatividhi; and former Union Minister of State Ashwini Choubey. Senior administrative and police officials, including the Pratapgarh District Magistrate and the Inspector General of Police, Prayagraj Range, also signed. The message was simple: 'Jal hai to kal hai'.
A clean ghat is not enough
One of the clearest examples of the challenges facing the Sai emerged at Chauharjan Devi Dham in Raniganj, Pratapgarh. The temple attracts devotees every day, but its ghat along the Sai had become a dumping ground for offerings, broken idols, discarded clothes and plastic waste. Through Nature Green Future Trust, I wrote to the Block Development Officer requesting the installation of dustbins at the ghat. The letter initially received no response. The issue was subsequently reported by Amar Ujala, Dainik Jagran and other newspapers. Following the media coverage, the District Magistrate expressed displeasure and directed the authorities to clean the ghats. The Nagar Panchayat and the Panchayati Raj department then undertook a cleaning drive. Amrit Prabhat later reported that the ghat had been cleaned. However, the improvement did not last. In the absence of dustbins and a proper waste-disposal arrangement, garbage began accumulating again. The District Panchayat Raj Officer subsequently said that arrangements would be made. This experience highlighted a larger problem. Cleaning a ghat once cannot resolve the issue if there is no system to manage waste afterwards. Without regular maintenance, infrastructure and clearly defined responsibility, such drives are unlikely to produce lasting results.
A river with a cultural and institutional history
The Sai is not just another waterway in Uttar Pradesh. It finds mention in Tulsidas's Ramcharitmanas, where Sri Ram's journey into exile crosses the river twice. It is also mentioned in the Shiva Mahapurana. Ahead of the padyatra, the initiative received support from academic institutions, including India Think Council and Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University, Lucknow. The university's Vice Chancellor described the effort as commendable. The river's condition has also received attention at the national level. Sangam Lal Gupta, then Member of Parliament from Pratapgarh, raised the issue in the Lok Sabha during Zero Hour. He urged the Ministries of Environment, Jal Shakti and Urban Development to work together to address industrial effluents and untreated drains entering the river. In September 2022, the National Green Tribunal directed a nine-member Monitoring Committee to prepare an action plan for preventing and remediating pollution in the Sai. The river has also been noted as included under the Namami Gange programme. These interventions indicate that the condition of the Sai has not gone entirely unnoticed. However, the gap between institutional attention and visible improvements on the ground remains a concern.
What needs to be done
Following the completion of the padyatra, I submitted a report and proposal to senior government officials, outlining measures that could form the basis of a coordinated river-revival programme. The proposal identifies six areas requiring attention:
- A comprehensive survey: A joint survey of the river's course, tributaries and encroachments to document its present condition.
- Official recognition: Recognition of the Sai as a river of cultural and ecological importance.
- Community participation: Formation of village- and ghat-level committees called 'Sai Mitra' to encourage local involvement in conservation.
- Sustained cleanliness and plantation: Regular cleaning and plantation drives, supported by dustbins and arrangements for long-term maintenance.
- Environmental awareness: Expansion of the 'Aao Nadiyon Ko Jaanein' initiative across schools and colleges.
- Cultural conservation: Identification and marking of sites associated with the Ramcharitmanas to promote cultural tourism.
The district-level committees formed during the padyatra and the documentation gathered along the river's course can provide a starting point for further intervention. However, these efforts will need administrative support and coordination between the departments concerned.
The work ahead
The Sai's condition reflects a challenge that extends beyond one river. Across the country, water bodies with considerable historical, cultural and ecological importance continue to face pollution and neglect. Public awareness campaigns and occasional cleaning drives can draw attention to these problems, but lasting restoration requires consistent institutional action. For the Sai, this means addressing pollution at its sources, monitoring industrial discharge and untreated drains, protecting its course and establishing systems for the regular maintenance of ghats. The padyatra was an attempt to understand the river beyond official records and bring the concerns of communities along its banks into a wider conversation. The report and proposals submitted to the government are intended to take that effort forward. The Sai has a long history. Ensuring that it also has a future will require more than awareness. It will require sustained action from the government, local institutions and the communities that live alongside it.
(Sundaram Tiwari is a State Youth Award–winning environmentalist and social worker. He is actively working in Uttar Pradesh on water conservation, tree plantation, and biodiversity protection, and promotes environmental awareness through cycle yatras and community initiatives.)
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