Kanihar Lake project to come up in city before Maha Kumbh-2025

Prayagraj: As the state government plans to organise the Maha Kumbh, 2025, on a mega level, the district administration is also gearing up to develop several areas for tourist attractions. One such project is the Kanihar City Lake project which will be developed in a joint effort of Prayagraj Municipal Corporation (PMC) and Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA).
Proposed in an area of 65.68 hectares (over 6,50,000 square metres) of the vacant land near Jhunsi and Andawa villages, hardly a few kilometres from the heart of Sangam city, the Kanihar City Lake project will soon become the favourite picnic spot for the residents of the city.
While the PDA is going to develop the forest using the Miyawaki technique, the PMC is gearing up to hire a consultant and work on rejuvenating the existing lake at the site. Once ready, Kanihar City Lake forest will act as a getaway site for city residents and a must-visit spot for tourists. Although not an essential part of the mega project, PDA has floated a tender to develop the forest in two hectares of land near the natural lake of Kanihar in two months.
On its part, PMC will soon prepare a detailed project report (DPR) and submit the same for getting the required funds. “With the help of experts, we will renovate the Kanihar Lake area of Jhunsi. PMC will take help of expert architects and consultants who will soon be hired,” said chief engineer of PMC, Satish Kumar.
Kumar further said that the lake is spread over a large area and PMC plans to develop as a centre of tourism. To make the lake and its surroundings more attractive, PMC also plans to build cottages around the lake wherein visitors could come and stay for a few days.
Before the renovation, a boundary will be constructed around the lake to protect it from encroachment. Few months back, municipal commissioner Ravi Ranjan and the chief engineer had inspected the lake.
The Kanihar lake which is to be developed is around 3 kilometres from the Ganga. If everything goes according to plan, the project is expected to be complete before the start of Kumbh, 2025.
The approach road to the proposed site has already been constructed. A wall of around 4.5 km is proposed around the lake so that it remains completely protected. After this, the main gate will be constructed on GT Road, along with two more gates on the approach roads.
Rohit Khanna, superintendent engineer of PDA said, “PDA is preparing a proposal and the same will be sent to the government for the first phase. There will be very little concrete construction in the plan and the site will have a natural pathway made of grass with natural landscapes on either sides, playing area for kids, an open gymnasium, boating facility, etc.”