‘Why can’t the Gomti River Front be opened till late in the night just like the London Eye?’: Aman Verma

Not only has actor Aman Verma lived in Lucknow for a year, he has also been a regular visitor to the city for professional reasons. "I was eight years old, when my father, who was in the Army, was posted in Lucknow. I used to live in Cantonment then," recalls Aman, who was in Lucknow recently to promote his show 'Khaki Ek Vachan'.
He adds, "I started travelling to Lucknow for professional reasons from 2000 onwards.So I have seen the city change in the last 17 years. In terms of traffic, the situation has become quite chaotic in Lucknow now and it is completely crazy now. Having said that, on the other hand, the infrastructure has improved in the city. The structures which have come up have added to the beautification of Lucknow."
Since the monsoons are here and the weather was pleasant, Aman insisted on going out to eat bhutta in the Gomti Nagar area. "See, I am more of person who likes going out on a bicycle, having desi stuff like a bhutta. In fact, I even like running in the rain and working out instead of going to a gym. I don’t have these things in mind that being a celebrity I will only travel in a car, or will not go out of the car. In fact, during my visit here, I even tried going to the recently built Gomti River Front area. Unfortunately, it was shut, and it was just 10.15pm. This is very sad! When you have made something like a River Front, when you have put in so much of money, you should have enough security to open it till late. When you go abroad, there are river fronts everywhere, which are open 24 hours. In fact, the government should have eating joints around that place so that people can enjoy there."
He adds, “This is what happens all over the world. If you go to England and walk around the London Eye, which is on a river front, there are eating joints from one corner to another corner. There are thousands of people walking till late at night. So why can't the Gomti River Front be opened till late in the night just like the London Eye?"
And that's not all. Aman even tried asking the police personnel at the River Front the reason for asking people to go back so early in the night. "Sab police waalon ka jawab ek hi tha, ji yahan koi durghatna na ho jaye. I found this reply very odd. In fact the same problem is there in most of our cities. In India, nobody wants to take responsibility ki bhai kal ko koi kaand ho gaya toh jawab dehi kis ki hogi. I saw several people standing on the bridge being shooed away rudely by the police. People at the Gomti River Front were enjoying the weather and not doing anything against the law. Asking them to go back home seemed odd to me. It is the failure of the system and not the society then," he rues.
Aman, who is really fond of bhuttas, went to 1090 crossing in Gomti Nagar to eat it and to enjoy the monsoons in Lucknow (BCCL/ Aditya Yadav)