'Hry govt working for revival of Saraswati river'

The Haryana government is working in a mission mode for the revival and rejuvenation of Saraswati river, Art and Cultural Affairs Minister Kavita Jain said today while describing the mythical river as a national heritage of India.

The minister made the remarks after the Haryana Sarasvati Heritage Development Board and the state's irrigation and water resources department signed two MoUs to investigate the palaeo-channel, and study hydrological and geomorphological aspects relating to the river.

"The state government has now roped in agencies like the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), National Institute of Hydrology and Geological Survey of India (NIH) to speed up work in this direction," Jain said.

She exhorted the agencies to take up the MoUs as a mission so as to realise the vision of the state government to give recognition to Saraswati river at international level.

It was a matter of pride that Adi Badri in Haryana is the origin point of the river, she said, adding that our Vedas were also written at the river bank.

Jain expressed her gratitude to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar for showing interest and enthusiasm in the revival and rejuvenation of Saraswati river and also for setting up the Haryana Sarasvati Heritage Development Board.

Earlier, speaking on the occasion, Deputy Chairman of the HSHDB Prashant Bhardwaj said that the ISRO has prepared GIS database of Saraswati palaeo-channel.

The water balance study of Saraswati river catchment would be done using hydro-geological modelling and geospatial techniques. This would be carried out in four phases from the year 2018 to 2020, an official release said.