Rejuvenation Work of Saraswati River

Why in news?

• The governments of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh recently entered into an agreement to build a dam at Adi Badri in Yamunanagar district, which, among others, will rejuvenate the mythical Saraswati river.
• Adi Badri, situated in Haryana near the Himachal Pradesh border, is believed to be the river’s origin point.

About Saraswati River:

• The river, which had originated from Kapal tirith in the Himalayas in the west of Kailash, was flowing southward to Mansarovar and then taking a turn towards west.
• The river flowed through Haryana, Rajasthan and North Gujarat.
• It also flowed through Pakistan before meeting Western Sea through Rann of Kutch and was approximately 4,000 km in length.
• The river had two branches:
  • Western: The Himalayan-born Satluj “of the PAST”, which flowed through the channels of present-day Ghaggar-Patialiwali rivulets, represents the western branch of the ancient river.
  • Eastern: Markanda and Sarsuti represented the eastern branch of Saraswati, known as Tons-Yamuna.
• The confluence of the branches was near Shatrana, 25 km south of Patiala. And suddenly, it flows crossing the dessert (Rann of Kutch) and meet gulf of western sea.

Historical evidence:

• The Sarasvati River is one of the main Rigvedic rivers mentioned in the scripture Rig Veda and later Vedic and post-Vedic texts.
• Book 6 of the Rig Veda includes a hymn called the ‘Nadistuti Sukta’, which sings praises of the Saraswati as being “perfect mother, unsurpassed river, supreme goddess”.
• For 2000 years, between 6000 and 4000 B.C., the Saraswati flowed as a great river.

About Rejuvenation Work of Saraswati River:

• Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation Limited shall be the executing agency for construction of Adi Badri dam.
• The entire funding of the project shall be arranged by Government of Haryana.
• A defined part of the stored water is earmarked for identified drinking water and irrigation requirements of the project affected villages in Himachal Pradesh

Add ons:

• The Government of India had constituted a committee of experts in 2017, to chalk out a plan for studying the mythical Sarasvati river.
• In its report, it had concluded that the Saraswati River, so far considered mythical, existed. It has also found evidence of the course of the river Saraswati.

PRACTICE QUESTION

Consider the following statements:

1. Sarasvati river finds mentions in Rig vedic texts.

2. The proposed Adi Badri dam is situated in Gujarat.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither

Answer