Get Complete Information on the Rivers of Haryana

There are (or were) eight major rivers in Haryana-Yamuna, Ghaggar, Saraswati, Dohan, Tangri, Krishnawati, Sahibi and Markanda.

Yamuna:

Yamuna River forms the eastern boundary of Haryana with Uttar Pradesh. It enters Haryana near the Kalesar forest in Yamunanagar district. It flows due south along the districts of Yamunanagar, Karnal, Panipat, Sonepat and leaves Haryana near Hasanpur in district Faridabad.

At Tajewala barrage in district Yamunanagar, the water of the river Yamuna are diverted to the western Yamuna canal for irrigation. There is a nice tourist spot at Hathni Kund near this barrage. The world famous Taj Mahal is situated on the banks of this river in Agra, Uttar Pradesh.

It is also called Yamna, Jamna and Jamuna in local dialects. This revered river originates from the Champasar Glacier at an altitude of 4,421 m in the State of Uttarakhand. Some say that the source of the river is the Saptarishi Kund, glacial lake. There is a sacred shrine of Yamunotri or Yamnotri, near this source at an altitude of 3,235 m.

There is a temple dedicated to Goddess Yamuna, which remains closed from November to May. At ^numanchatti or Hanuman Ganga merges with Yamuna river. Yamunotri finds a special mention in the Hindu mythology. According to a legend, this secluded hilly spot was the home of an ancient sage, Asit Muni.

From Uttarakhand, the river flows into the State of Himachal Pradesh. After passing leaving Paonta Sahib, Yamuna flows along the boundary of Haryana and Uttar Pradesh and after leaving Haryana, it continues to flow till it merges with the river Ganga (Ganges) at Sangam or Prayag in Allahabad (Uttar Pradesh). The total length of the river is 1,370 km. Its major tributaries are the Chambal and Betwa rivers.

Religious Importance:

The Rivers Ganga and Yamuna, along with the now dried Saraswati, are the most sacred rivers of India. Yamuna, according to the legends, is the daughter of the Sun God, Surya and the sister of Yama, the God of Death.

According to ancient beliefs, it is said that those who take a dip in the holy waters of the river, do not fear death. This river is also closely connected to Mahabharata and Lord Krishna. Lord Krishna’s father, Vasudeva, crossed the Yamuna with baby Lord Krishna for a safer place. It is said that Lord Krishna played along with his cowherd friends on the banks of river Yamuna during his childhood in Nandgram, Mathura.

Saraswati:

River Saraswati is believed to have drained the north and northwest region of India, including Haryana and Punjab, in ancient times. It is also believed to be supporting a large number of settlements during those times. There are numerous references to the river Saraswati in the ancient Indian literature of the Vedic and post-Vedic period.

Rig Veda, the most ancient of the four Vedas, describes Saraswati as a mighty river with many individually recognized tributaries. The sacred book calls Saraswati as the seventh river of the Sindhu-Saraswati river system, hence the name Saptasindhu for the region bounded by rivers Saraswati in the east and Sindhu (Indus) in the west.

Rig Veda hymns also describe life and times of the people residing in the Saraswati river valley. Rig Veda describes Saraswati as Ambitame, the best of the mothers; and Devitame, the best of the goddesses. An ancient site in Kunal and Banawali, in district Fatehabad, has been found on the banks of the dried river bed of Saraswati.

Saraswati is believed to have originated from the Har-ki-Dun glacier in West Garhwal. It flowed parallel to the river Yamuna for some distance and later joined it, the unified river proceeding toward south as the Vedic Saraswati. The seasonal rivers and rivulets, including Ghaggar, joined Saraswati as it followed the course of the present river through Punjab and Haryana.

River Sutlej, the Vedic Shatadru, joined the river Saraswati as a tributary at Shatrana, at a distance of approximately 25 kilometres south of Patiala. Saraswati then followed the course of Ghaggar through Rajasthan and Hakra in Bhawalpur before emptying into the Rann of Kutch via Nara in Sindh province, running parallel to the Indus River. It has been established that the river Saraswati, carrying the waters of three perennial and numerous seasonal rivers, was a mighty rivers during the Vedic times.

Ghaggar:

As of today, a part of the river exists as Ghaggar in Haryana; the rest of it has disappeared in the fringes of the desert of Rajasthan and Sindh. The perennial rivers Sutlej and Yamuna were once the tributaries of the Saraswati. It is believed that subsequently, some tectonic movements may have forced the Sutlej and Yamuna to change course and hence, Saraswati dried up in a period spread over a few hundred years, possibly between 2000 and 1500 BC.

It is probable that desertification of Rajasthan would have taken place at that time. The present dried bed of Ghaggar was thus, a part of a major river, anciently known as Saraswati. Analysis of satellite imagery supports the hypothesis regarding the course of the ‘lost’ Saraswati.

This river enters Haryana near Pinjore. After passing through Ambala and Hissar, it reaches Bikaner in Rajasthan and runs a course of 290 miles before finally disappearing in the deserts of Rajasthan.

Markanda:

The Markanda River’s ancient name was Aruna. A seasonal stream like the Ghaggar, it originates from the lower Shivalik hills and enters Haryana near Ambala. During monsoons, this stream swells up into a raging torrent, which is notorious for its devastating power. The surplus water is carried on to the Sanisa Lake where the Markanda joins the Saraswati. Its important tributary is the Tangri.

Sahibi:

The Sahibi originates in the Mewat hills near Jitgarh and Manoharpur in Rajasthan. Gathering volume from about a hundred tributaries, it reaches voluminous proportions, forming a broad stream around Alwar and Patan.

After reaching Rohtak, it branches off into two smaller streams and finally reaches the outskirts of Delhi. Then, it flows into the Yamuna. There are three other rivulets in and around the Mewat hills-Indori, Dohan and Kasavati; all of these flow northwards from south.

Rainfall :

Haryana receives, less rainfall each year. During the monsoons (from June to September), the plains receive rainfall. The Shivalik range receives 216 cm of rainfall (maximum) each year. The Aravalli region gets scanty rainfall. During the winter season, rainfall occurs from December to February.

The districts of Ambala, Kurukshetra, Karnal, Jind, Panipat, Gurgaon, Rohtak, Sonepat and Faridabad receive good rainfall. But the Mewat region of Gurgaon and Faridabad does not get good rainfall. The average rainfall in the State is 45 cm. The south­western parts of the state (including Sirsa, Bhiwani, Hissar, Rewari, Rohtak, Gurgaon, Faridabad and Mahendragarh) receive less rainfall. The north-eastern parts (including Ambala, Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Jind, Sonepat and Panipat) get plenty of rainfall.

Soil :

The hilly areas of the State are limited. Most of the terrain is used for agricultural production. Rivers of the area bring fertile soil along with them from the mountains and deposit it in the plains. This soil is very useful for cultivation.

There are three types of soil in Haryana, which depend upon three types of terrain of the state. These three types of the terrain are-hilly, plain and sandy. The soil of the hilly terrain is rocky. The terrain of the plains has fertile soil.

The colour of this soil is yellowish grey. It has been deposited here by the rivers Yamuna and Saraswati. The terrain of the sandy tracts of the State has sandy soil. The colour of the soil is light grey. It is brought into the state by the high-speed warm winds of Rajasthan. It is not fertile. The hilly areas of the State have thin but rock-solid soil.

The rivers of the state deliver fertile soil along their valleys. This soil has fine grains. In Yamunanagar, various types of soil are found. One type does not have nitrogen and phosphorus in abundance. Further, red chestnut soil is also found in this area. In the sub-hilly region of the Shivaliks, domut, grey and sandy soils are found. The terrain has ample quantities of small pebbles and stones.

In Rohtak district, the soil is fertile. In most of the areas of Jhajjar Tehsil, one can find sand dunes. The soil here is of light grey colour; it lacks nitrogen. The soil of Sonepat district is sandy and domut. In Sirsa district, red soil is found. In Hissar, Bhiwani and Fatehabad, sandy domut soil is in abundance. In this soil, crops can be grown, if water is supplied to the same.

The soil of Gurgaon district is of two types. In the uneven tract of the district, sandy and domut soil is found. It is found in Sohna, Gurgaon and Punhana. In the plain-cum-sandy tract, the soil found is sandy. It is found in Ferozepur-Jhirka, Nagma, Tavadu and Pataudi. But at the same time the plain-cum-sandy tract also has chikni soil, which is found in Nuh and Ferozepur Jhirka. But it is found only in a few parts of these two towns.

In Jind district, soil has been brought by rivers Ghaggar and Yamuna. It is also called alluvial soil. The soil of Ambala and Kaithal district is yellowish-grey in colour. But in some parts, rocky terrain is also found. The soil of Faridabad is fertile; its colour is yellowish-grey. The soil of districts Kurukshetra, Panipat and Karnal is yellowish-grey and fertile. The soil of district Mahendragarh and Rewari is predominantly sandy; it is not very much fertile. The colour of this soil is light grey.