Rivers & Lakes

The Sabarmati river is the cleanest river I have seen inside a city in India. While the water might not be potable it definitely clean and not smelling and does not have any floating dirt.

With this clean river the city panning authority have really used the space around the river beautifully. The riverfront area almost gives a “it’s not India” feeling. Right from the planning of the shops, the look of the place, the width of the walkways, the brilliant Atal bridge which is a walk only bridge used only as a tourist space, the lighting, the vibe etc. Everything looks so perfect and thought through.

They have also separated the eatery area from the waking area. This has kept both the walking area and the river clean. You can do activities such as cycling skating etc in the river front. Everything is chargeable with a small entry fee. But I think it’s worth to pay that for the experience you will be getting.

There are also beautiful gardens made on the riverfront. The gardens have very pretty walkways. There are huge ponds with lotuses, small streams, water falls, fountains and many more. It’s a beautiful place to take a morning or evening walk.

Needless to say that all expensive hotels and apartments have been built on the other side of the road facing the riverfront. The views that they will be getting demands a premium price for sure.

After spending sometime at the Sabarmati riverfront, I visited the Kanakariya lake. It was also very clean and it had huge pavements to walk on. There were water sports like speed boating, the water ball thing where you are inside a huge transparent ball floating in water, a small open train running around the lake, a restaurant on a boat and many other eateries along the lakefront. Even with all this, there was enough empty space to sit and enjoy just the water.

If only other cities with lakes and river can do something similar. Chennai, Bangalore, Delhi – hope you are listening.