Lucknow, June 21 -- Nearly nine months after chief minister Yogi Adityanath directed authorities to accelerate efforts to clean and rejuvenate the Gomti, a dredging proposal involving a massive logistical operation is back in consideration after 25 years to restore the river's ecological health.

The move comes even as government agencies and experts work to meet a two-fold challenge - one on the surface of the river in the form of completely stopping sewage inflows and the other below it in the shape of millions of tonnes of accumulated silt, sludge and sediment below it. This accumulation has buried large stretches of the riverbed, weakening the river's natural flow and recharge capacity.

The Gomti Task Force's dredging recommendation ...