Territorial Army raises new unit for Gomti river rejuvenation

The Territorial Army has raised a new unit for rejuvenating the Gomti river under its ecological task force.

The new unit became functional on Wednesday. A formal ‘raising day’ function is slated to be held in mid-January at the Indian Army’s Lucknow-headquartered Central Command.

The Ministry of Defence, in September 2024, had sanctioned a ‘company strength’ unit for the Gomti that included four Junior Commissioned Officers and a hundred ex-servicemen.

The decision was taken after the rejuvenation of the Gomti, a tributary of the Ganges which flows in Lucknow, was suggested by the Composite Ecological Task force (CETF) under the ongoing National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), funded by the Union Jal Shakti Ministry.

The CETF, also called Ganga Task Force, is purely a unit manned by ex-servicemen, with charter to augment the larger role of the NMCG in rejuvenation of the Ganges. The unit has laid down specific tasks that include plantation for stabilisation of river banks, ghat patrolling, conduct of awareness programme. One of the important tasks is pollution monitoring that is used by the NMCG as a yardstick to compare samples of other agencies.

The Territorial Army is a voluntary force that supports and supplements the Indian Army in times of need. It provides support during natural calamities, civil disturbances, and in the maintenance of essential services.