The Rivers of Haryana

The rivers that are in Haryana mainly fall within the basins of Ganga and Indus. Ghaggar and all its tributaries are in the Indus basin, whereas Yamuna and all its tributaries are part of the Ganga basin. The state of Haryana does not have any perennial river in the truest sense of the term. The main river of the state is Ghaggar and it is a seasonal river; the source of this river is the Shivalik hills and the river flows in the outer Himalayas between Sutlej and Yamuna and later enters the Pinjore (district Panchkula) of Haryana.

According to reports, it has been said that the Saraswati river origin lies at Adi Badri, which is an archaeological site located almost 40 km from Haryana, near the Somb river (near the foothills of Shivalik). A lot of research has been done to understand the origin and the existence of Saraswati. This river is closely linked to the history of the Vedic civilization and even Harappan sites claim its existence. In the Vedic era, it was believed that along with Yamuna and Sutlej rivers, Saraswati was one of the strongest rivers. But, unfortunately, during 5000 BC, the river went dry with a broken course and rivers Yamuna and Sutlej moved away to join Ganga and Indus respectively.

Rivers of Haryana

Ghaggar:

The tributaries of the Ghaggar river are Sarsuti, Chautang, Tangari, Kaushalya, Markanda and Saraswati. The excessive catchment has resulted in making this river seasonal all through its length of 320 km, including all its tributaries. The towns and villages located on the banks of Markanda, Tangari, Chautang and Kaushalya discharge their domestic sewage into the rivers and that is polluting the river water. If we look at the Ghaggar river map, we can see that a lot of intensive farming activities has been going on in the area, which is further damaging the river plain. Because of this, the river is in the RED category.

This river has 5 lift irrigations and 2 dams built across it.

Because of pollution from all the places along the river bank, the water of this river is extremely polluted and even has heavy metal accumulation.

The Kaushalya dam, which was constructed across the river, Kaushalya, in 2008 and then in 2012, was mainly for the purpose of water supply.

Markanda, which is the main tributary of Ghaggar, is also seasonal. But, during monsoon, it swells up, causing floods. The water, which is surplus, is carried to Lake Sanisa, which later joins the river, Saraswati.

Yamuna

The main tributaries of Yamuna are Somb, Sahibi and Thapana. Yamunanagar, which is located on the river bank, is dumping an enormous amount of domestic and industrial waste into the river due to which even this river has turned seasonal. Panipat and Sonipat are also guilty of dumping waste in this river. The floodplains present here are under cultivation and sand mining is done illegally here. The stretch of around 100 km, up to Delhi, is extremely polluted and the constant conversion of the river plain into real estate is happening along the Delhi NCR, which is not a great sign at all. Because of all these reasons, the river has gotten into the RED zone, including the Somb river. Thapana being a tiny river is the only perennial one supporting the biodiversity along its banks.

Sahibi:

The main tributaries of this river are Sota, Indori and Kotkasim. The origin of this river is in Rajasthan and then it flows to Haryana. In both states, this river has turned into a seasonal river. Many small towns, which are located on the lower parts of the river, including Gurgaon, contribute to the river pollution immensely. All the streams, which are joining Sahibi, are ecologically dead. Due to these reasons, even Sahibi is in the RED category.

Krishnavati:

Dohan is the main tributary of the river, Krishnavati, and they originate in the Aravalli hills of Rajasthan. But because their courses are already dry, the streams become invisible. It is believed that these streams used to be a part of the river, Saraswati.

Conclusion 

The state of Haryana has no perennial river of its own, in the truest sense of the term. All the rivers flowing through the state are seasonal. Some of the main rivers are Ghaggar, Kaushalya, Markanda, Somb and Sahibi. The towns and villages, which are located on the banks of these rivers, are polluting them by dumping domestic and industrial waste into them. Illegal sand mining is rampant along the banks of Yamuna. Because of all of these reasons, most of the rivers are in the RED zone – Thapana being a tiny river is the only perennial one supporting the biodiversity along its banks. Saraswati is believed to have its origin in Haryana.