LUCKNOW, India -- A fisherman for nearly 50 years, Ramakant Nishad now sits idle because the sewage-filled Gomati River that runs through this northern Indian city cannot breed fish anymore.

The Gomati river in Lucknow witnesses the dump of nalas. Can one take a bath in Gomati? At one point, in many rivers of Uttar Pradesh, in Kanpur and Lucknow, fish couldn't survive.

The estimated cost of 54 km dredging work from Maharani in Gomati district to Sonamura in Sepahijala district is Rs 19.50 crore, he said. "The much-awaited dredging works on the Gomati river has ...