Whether you take a stroll at the iconic Gomti Riverfront or you decide to visit the historic banks of Kudiya Ghat, the substantial spread of plastic waste and other kinds of trash afflicting the banks and choking the river Gomti is a normal sight.

In a bid to tackle this, the developers and experts at the Centre for Innovation Policy and Social Change (CIPSC) have developed an AI-enabled trash boat which will work towards the cleaning of solid waste including micro waste in the river.

The initiative caught pace last week when the self-propelling AI-enabled trash boat was introduced in the river for a trial run at the Laxman Mela Ghat. Reportedly, the trial will continue for the next 30 days.

Moreover, the boat emits zero carbon as it is powered by solar panels. It is remotely operated by a manual operator from any nearby bank and is equipped with advanced technology such as GPS for real-time monitoring, special sensors and cameras for the automatic detection of any kind of solid waste, small mesh to gather even the smallest of river waste and a large 200 kg storage which gathers waste effectively through a conveyor belt.

The director of CIPSC, Karishma Sabharwal said, "The trials are being conducted after several months of research. It will be given to the municipal corporation as soon as the 30-day trial is completed."

She further added that if four boats are deployed from Pucca Pul in the old city to Nishatganj, the Gomti will look clean.

The district commissioner, Roshan Jacob who was also present during the first day of the trial run, has directed CIPSC to increase the storage capacity of the boat to 1000 kg.

Many attempts have been made for cleaning the waters of the Gomti River, despite which, the degradation of the quality of water continues. Untreated industrial waste from the sugar factories and distilleries and effluents discharged from the sewage systems of the cities situated on the banks of the rivers have deteriorated the water quality of the river.

Amidst the rising levels of pollution, the AI trash boat might prove to be a good initiative for the removal of solid waste and the growth of water hyacinth which chokes up the waterline of the river.