Scientific Reason for drying of river SARASWATI The explanation offered by most scholars, geologists in particular, is that the Sarasvati was partly fed by waters from the Sutlej (in the west) and the Yamuna (in the east). Indeed many palaeo-channels connecting those three rivers systems have been traced. Now, the watershed between the Yamuna and the Sutlej is a very flat and a seismically active region; it has been proposed that it underwent a slight uplift, which drove away the Sutlej and the Yamuna, leaving the Sarasvati with only a few seasonal tributaries originating in the Shivaliks.
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Scientific Reason for drying of river SARASWATIThe explanation offered by most scholars, geologists in particular, is
that the Sarasvati was partly fed by waters from the Sutlej (in the west) and the Yamuna (in the east).
Indeed many palaeo-channels connecting those three rivers systems have been traced.
Now, the watershed between the Yamuna and the Sutlej is a very flat and a seismically active region; it has been proposed that it underwent a slight uplift, which drove away the Sutlej and the Yamuna, leaving the Sarasvati with only a few seasonal tributaries originating in the Shivaliks.
• Sarasvati , which was wider than Amazon started drying up in 4000 BC due to tectonic plate shifts which blocked the glacier source , and made this river dependant on rains , NOT melting ice.
• Gradually the whole river was buried under the Thar desert sand dunes, leaving only disconnected pools and lakes here and there.
The pictures below shows the old and the new course of the rivers YAMUNA and SUTLEJ
Ghaggar-Hakra identified with the Vedic Sarasvati River • The Ghaggar is an intermittent river in India, flowing during
the monsoon rains. • It originates in the Shivalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh and
flows through Punjab and Haryana states into Rajasthan; just southwest of Sirsa, Haryana and by the side of Talwara Lake in Rajasthan.
The picture shows the ghagra-hakra course identification with the sarasvati river
Effect of drying of the River Saraswati• Saraswati had such an impact on the lives, even after her
disappearence, that many rivers were later renamed after her. River Argandab (now in Afghanistan) was named Sarasvati. • The lower channels of the river Luni in Gujrat were also renamed as
Saraswati. Another river born in the Himalayas, (one of the sources of Vedic Sarasvati) but flowing down in Assam is also called Saraswati.
Effect on Civilisation• The demise of Sarasvati, was near fatal for the Sarasvati civilization. The
scarcity of water forced people to migrate. Sarasvati - Sindhu civilization did not vanish. • There was a shift of population after the economy around the Saraswati
river collapsed. People moved to east to the Ganga-Yamuna plains, west, northwest and south to Godavari plains.
Concentration of settlements as per the river courses
Impact of demise in today’s world• Geo-scientists in Haryana and Gujarat have been looking for the lost
remains of the legendary Saraswati river for an answer to water scarcity in draught prone areas. • The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) - is set to dig deep in the
ground along the ancient river channel to search for fresh waters trapped in deep aquifers. • ONGC has already signed MoUs with the two state governments.
• Dr A R Chaudhri, professor of Geology at Kurukshetra University - who has been involved in the research on the water exploration project for about six years - stated that satellite imagery suggested the presence of several paleo-channels.• This indicated that a river once existed in the areas being explored. The
sediments collected from the water at different sites suggest a dense mineral content which is otherwise found in higher Himalayan ranges. • The discovery of minerals reinforced the theory propagated by the researchers. • A sudden gush of water from below the surface at four different temple sites in
Haryana about seven years ago had attracted the attention of geo-scientists and they explored the dried river tracks beneath the earth (paleo-channels).
