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The Uttar Pradesh government is working on the project to revive the Sumer Sagar Lake in the heart of Gorakhpur. The lake spreading across 18 acres existed on maps till 1996 but disappeared two decades later. Now it is all set to be revived and restored to its lost glory.
According to official sources, the lake has been completely encroached upon by land mafia over the years with permanent structures and even a road being constructed on it. The ‘’lake’’ does not have any water in it.
According to a district official, the district administration has decided to revive the Sumer Sagar Lake. The administration has already razed 90 per cent of the commercial buildings and encroachments on the lake area and sent notices to shops and residential buildings to vacate the place.
An investigation has also been ordered into the encroachment on the lake, construction of buildings, the maps of which were even passed by Gorakhpur Development Authority. The investigation into the role of the Gorakhpur Nagar Nigam, which constructed a road on the lake’s land, has also been ordered. 
The Gorakhpur Development Authority will also probe how the maps of buildings in Sumer Sagar area and Jatepur were approved. The GDA is likely to cancel all the building maps which have been wrongly approved.
“The lake will be revived to its original form and will be developed for tourism. We have already contacted the Jal Shakti Ministry for this. The lake will also resolve the water-logging problem in the city to a great extent. As per orders of the Supreme Court, High Court, and National Green Tribunal, water bodies should be conserved in their original forms,” the district official said.
“As per Google Maps, the lake existed in its original form in 1996, but in the map of 2019, it disappeared completely. More than 220 structures have come up on the lake’s land. People are using it as godowns and warehouses. Shops and houses were also constructed on the rest of the land. Now, seven days’’ time has been given to them after which the buildings will be demolished,” the official said.
The Yogi Adityanath government has already transformed the Ramgarh Lake into a picturesque tourist spot.