lucknow the proposed nhai project to build a highway connecting lucknow and sitapur that may see levelling of 150yearold heritage waterbody bakshikatalab has kicked up a storm here with environmentalists and conservationists crying hoarse over its viability interestingly the land revenue records of the state government suggest that the waterbody is encroaching upon the land marked for construction of the proposed highwayconstructed by tripur chand bakshi an erstwhile war coordinator of nawab amjad ali shah of awadh between 1842 and 1845 the heritage structure is a unique example of shahi talab royal lake with four ghats and eight historical tombs two krishna and shiva temples situated on the talab campus may also become extinct once the proposed project gets underwayraising up the issue members of the indian national trust for art and cultural heritage intach have sent several reminders to the nhai seeking suspension of the project former chief secretary of up yogendra narain who is now closely associated with intach said that land revenue records of the state government are faulty ive been told by the state revenue department that the talab is encroaching upon on the national highway but how can that be the structure was constructed more than 150 years back he said while talking to toi narain said that he would meet nhai chairman in new delhi to take up the issue on april 13the project envisages construction of a fourlane national highway nh24 on a builtoperatetransfer bot basis the highway which is twolane as on date is being made fourlane in another five years it is proposed to be converted into six lanes according to traffic requirements and thats where the problem begins the talab is situated barely 15 metres from the present stretch of national highway which is around 28 metres broad the sixlane highway would be almost 60 metres broad it would be then that around 30 to 40 of the waterbody would come under the ambit of the national highway narain saidintach officials said that the locals and the conservationists are up in arms ever since the project was conceptualised