Demarcation of Sarasvati river completed, says Haryana government

The government informed that the identification and mapping of palaeochannel of the river is almost complete in consultation with HARSAC, Central Ground Water Board and ISRO. ONGC has given in-principle nod to setting up 10 exploratory wells in districts Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal and Fatehabad.

Sewerage treatment plant (STP) will be set up in Kurukshetra for treatment of polluted waters that were going into Sarasvati.

The construction has been initiated. STPs will also be set up at 19 villages of Yamunanagar and five villages in Kaithal. All maps of the river available with Survey of India, satellite image maps from ISRO, HARSAC and palaeo channel maps from ISRO have been obtained by the government.

The Haryana government had in August last year pumped water into a largely dry channel that is stated to be the route of the river Sarasvati and made claims of “revival of the river”. The opposition questioned the claims of the government more than once during the ongoing Budget Session.

During the session, Karan Singh Dalal termed the attempt by the government at reviving “Khattar Sarasvati”. He said that what the government is trying to revive is not the actual route of Saraswati.

Talking to The Indian Express, Karan SIngh said, “The reply I have received is completely unsatisfactory. There is a Sarasvati from Afghanistan. Some others consider Ghaggar as Sarasvati and there is a mention in the vedas. The route of Sarasvati is somewhere else and only to divert attention of the people, the government is making claims of reviving it. They are imposing the RSS agenda in the state.”

He added that the government was diverting water from other sources and showing it as water of Sarasvati. Talking about the river during the Budget Session, state BJP president Subhash Barala said that NASA and ISRO have also confirmed that river Sarasvati is flowing in Haryana.