Representational (Express photo) The governments of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh Friday entered into an agreement to build a dam at Adi Badri in Yamunanagar district, which, among others, will rejuvenate the mythical Saraswati river. Adi Badri, situated in Haryana near the Himachal Pradesh border, is believed to be the river’s origin point.
Haryana Chief Secretary Sanjeev Kaushal and Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Ram Subhag Singh signed the MoU on behalf of the respective state governments for the construction of the Adi Badri Dam. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and his Himachal counter part Jai Ram Thakur were also present.
“The Saraswati river will be rejuvenated with the construction of Adi Badri dam. The religious beliefs will also be revived with the rejuvenation of the Saraswati river. Along with this, the area will also develop as a pilgrimage site,” Khattar said
The Haryana CM said the objective of the project is to revive the Saraswati river as well as increase ground water level. With the commissioning of the dam, the flood situation arising out of excessive rainfall during rainy days will also be dealt with. The lake being built near it will also promote tourism, he added.
“I had travelled in 1986-87 in connection with the research on the revival of the Saraswati river. This journey started from Adi Badri in Yamunanagar and reached till Kutch. With the construction of Adi Badri dam, water will flow continuously in the Saraswati river throughout the year,” he noted.
Kurukshetra University and Haryana Saraswati Heritage Development Board are conducting the research on the mythical river.
Khattar said the Adi Badri dam will be built on 31.66 hectares of land in Himachal Pradesh and an amount of Rs 215.33 crore will be spent for the same. “It will store 224.58 hectare metres of water every year, of which Himachal Pradesh will get 61.88 hectare metres of water, and Haryana the remaining which will flow into the Saraswati river,” he said.
The width of the dam will be 101.06 metres and height 20.5 metres.
Notably, the dam at Adi Badri will also get water from the Somb river that falls in the Yamuna near Adi Badri in Yamunanagar.
Meanwhile, Thakur said the Adi Badri dam will meet the requirement of irrigation and drinking water for both states. Due to the flow of water in the Saraswati river, this area will also be developed from the point of view of religious tourism, he added.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had also expressed his desire for the revival of the Saraswati river, the chief minister said. Proper compensation will be given to 21 families whose land will be used for the construction of the dam, he added.
Thakur said in the coming days, foundation stone of the dam will be laid after completing all formalities related to the project.
Governments of both the states are also preparing the roadmap for many other projects together. This will develop tourism in both the regions, he added.
Khattar also said that the area from Kalka to Kalesar is important from tourism’s point of view. Many religious and tourist places come in this area, including Adi Badri, Lohagarh, Kapal Mochan, Mata Mantra Devi, he said.
He said several projects will be worked out in collaboration with Himachal Pradesh, including construction of a dam at Hathnikund barrage.
In this dam, water flowing from mountains to the Hathnikund barrage will be stored so that the crops can also be saved from flood-like situations.
Survey work for this dam will start soon, he said.
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