Saraswati River Research Development project

The roots of ancient and mythical river, Saraswati, are now being dug up. The Saraswati River Research Development project of the Bharatiya Itihas Sanklan Samiti, Gujarat has started digging a bore well in collaboration with Kutch University and the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) to trace the roots of the Saraswati in the state. Former scientist of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), P S Thakkar, said that the digging of the bore well is on in the Great Rann of Kutch. “We are hopeful of finding traces of Saraswati. A study of different layers of soil in Kutch and Rajasthan reveals that they are of the same quality and date back to the same century,’’ he said. He said that the Saraswati was a river which had its origin in the glaciers of Himalaya near Kailash Mansarovar and the Samiti had found five different flows of Saraswati in the state. 
Several palaeo-channels of river have been identified in the region of Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and adjacent areas, some of which are assigned to the Saraswati. The river is considered to have migrated from east to west. But in the past, most discussions have pointed to the river being in north Gujarat. 
During low sea level regime, the Rann of Kutch and Gulf of Cambay played a significant role in sustaining the course of northern rivers and helped human settlements to thrive. Discovery of distinct palaeo-channel with fortified settlement and numerous channels appeared in the Great Rann of Kutch immediately after the 2001 earthquake.