· Now the Archeological Survey of India (ASI) has reconstituted the ‘Advisory Committee for the Multidisciplinary Study of the River Sarasvati’ for a period of two years.
· The committee will be chaired by the Culture Minister and it will consist of members from various ministries, ISRO, government officials of Gujarat, Haryana and Rajasthan; and an ASI official.
· Functions of the committee:
- Review the work of the previous panel.
- Render advise to government departments conducting research.
Findings of the previous panel
· An integrated palaeochannel map of River Saraswati was prepared from the origin in
Himalayas to Rann of Kutchch by ISRO.
· The origin of the mapped course of the River Saraswati palaeochannel in North West India was linked to Himalayan perennial source through Sutlej and Yamuna Rivers.
· The mapping was carried out using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data along with digital elevation model.
· From this it was observed that major Harappan sites of Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banawali and Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat) lie along the River Saraswati.
· An integrated palaeochannel map of River Saraswati was prepared from the origin in
Himalayas to Rann of Kutchch by ISRO.
· The origin of the mapped course of the River Saraswati palaeochannel in North West India was linked to Himalayan perennial source through Sutlej and Yamuna Rivers.
· The mapping was carried out using Indian Remote Sensing Satellite data along with digital elevation model.
· From this it was observed that major Harappan sites of Kalibangan (Rajasthan), Banawali and Rakhigarhi (Haryana), Dholavira and Lothal (Gujarat) lie along the River Saraswati.
Sarasvati River
· The Sarasvati river, which finds mention in ancient Indian scriptures like Rig veda, is said to have disappeared with time, leaving little evidence of its existence.
· Later Vedic texts and also the Mahabharata mention that the river dried up in a desert.
· A number of archaeologists and geologists have identified the Sarasvati river with the present-day Ghaggar-Hakra River and they also believe that the Sarasvati originated in the Shivalik Hills and descended through Adi Badri situated in the foothills of the Shivaliks, to the plains and finally entered into the Arabian sea at the Rann of Kutch.
· Excavations at Rakhighari in 2015 have also suggested that the Indus Valley Civilisation died due to the drying up of Sarasvati river.
· The Sarasvati river, which finds mention in ancient Indian scriptures like Rig veda, is said to have disappeared with time, leaving little evidence of its existence.
· Later Vedic texts and also the Mahabharata mention that the river dried up in a desert.
· A number of archaeologists and geologists have identified the Sarasvati river with the present-day Ghaggar-Hakra River and they also believe that the Sarasvati originated in the Shivalik Hills and descended through Adi Badri situated in the foothills of the Shivaliks, to the plains and finally entered into the Arabian sea at the Rann of Kutch.
· Excavations at Rakhighari in 2015 have also suggested that the Indus Valley Civilisation died due to the drying up of Sarasvati river.
