The mystery over the existence of Saraswati river, it seems, may soon be solved. To resume the project of identifying the paleochannel of the lost river, the state government has submitted a detailed project report (DPR) to the Centre which is expected to be approved by end of June.
A paleochannel is a remnant of an inactive river or stream that has been either been filled up or buried by younger sediment.
The state groundwater department (SGWD) has proposed to take up the study for rejuvenation of Saraswati paleochannel network and exploration of groundwater resources in north-western Rajasthan. Kiran Maheshwari, state minister for water resources, in her letter (February 16) to Uma Bharti, Union minister for water resources, stated that testing would be conducted in a stretch of 542.36 km, covering parts of five districts of Rajasthan.
“The objective of the investigation is to establish the fact that the mighty Saraswati once flowed from Thar desert and subsequently vanished due to climatic changes of tertiary period in Rajasthan,“ noted Maheshwari in her report. As part of the study , SGWD will conduct satellite based mapping of Saraswati paleochannels in Hanumangarh, Ganganagar, Bikaner, Jaisalmer and Barmer. It will also carry out drilling to determine the age and confirm provenance of buried sediments.
Several agencies have been roped in for the project. Regional Remote Sensing Centre (RRSC), Jodhpur will provide the satellite and develop GIS-based Saraswati information system. It will include all information at a glance related to the river. The National Institute of Hydrology (NIH), Roorkee will help in determining the age of groundwater while Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad will study the sediments extracted through core drilling.
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