Scientific Reason for drying of river

SARASWATI
The explanation offered by most scholars, geologists in particular, is
that the Sarasvati was partly fed by waters from the Sutlej (in the
west) and the Yamuna (in the east).
Indeed many palaeo-channels connecting those three rivers systems
have been traced.
Now, the watershed between the Yamuna and the Sutlej is a very flat
and a seismically active region; it has been proposed that it
underwent a slight uplift, which drove away the Sutlej and the
Yamuna, leaving the Sarasvati with only a few seasonal tributaries
originating in the Shivaliks.

Sarasvati , which was wider than
Amazon started drying up in 4000 BC
due to tectonic plate shifts which
blocked the glacier source , and made
this river dependant on rains , NOT
melting ice.
Gradually the whole river was buried
under the Thar desert sand dunes,
leaving only disconnected pools and
lakes here and there.

The pictures below shows the old and the new course of the
rivers YAMUNA and SUTLEJ
Ghaggar-Hakra identified with the Vedic
Sarasvati River
The Ghaggar is an intermittent river in India, flowing during
the monsoon rains.
It originates in the Shivalik Hills of Himachal Pradesh and
flows through Punjab and Haryana states into Rajasthan; just
southwest of Sirsa, Haryana and by the side of Talwara Lake in
Rajasthan.
The picture shows the ghagra-hakra course identification with the sarasvati river
Effect of drying of the River Saraswati
Saraswati had such an impact on the lives, even after her
disappearence, that many rivers were later renamed after her. River
Argandab (now in Afghanistan) was named Sarasvati.
The lower channels of the river Luni in Gujrat were also renamed as
Saraswati. Another river born in the Himalayas, (one of the sources of
Vedic Sarasvati) but flowing down in Assam is also called Saraswati.
Effect on Civilisation
The demise of Sarasvati, was near fatal for the Sarasvati civilization. The
scarcity of water forced people to migrate. Sarasvati - Sindhu civilization
did not vanish.
There was a shift of population after the economy around the Saraswati
river collapsed. People moved to east to the Ganga-Yamuna plains, west,
northwest and south to Godavari plains.
Concentration of settlements as per the river
courses
Impact of demise in todays world
Geo-scientists in Haryana and Gujarat have been looking for the lost
remains of the legendary Saraswati river for an answer to water
scarcity in draught prone areas.
The Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) - is set to dig deep in the
ground along the ancient river channel to search for fresh waters
trapped in deep aquifers.
ONGC has already signed MoUs with the two state governments.
Dr A R Chaudhri, professor of Geology at Kurukshetra University - who has
been involved in the research on the water exploration project for about
six years - stated that satellite imagery suggested the presence of several
paleo-channels.
This indicated that a river once existed in the areas being explored. The
sediments collected from the water at different sites suggest a dense
mineral content which is otherwise found in higher Himalayan ranges.
The discovery of minerals reinforced the theory propagated by the
researchers.
A sudden gush of water from below the surface at four different temple
sites in Haryana about seven years ago had attracted the attention of geo-
scientists and they explored the dried river tracks beneath the earth
(paleo-channels).

REFRENCES
WEBSITES:
http://ajitvadakayil.blogspot.in/2011/01/mother-of-all-civilisations-
saraswati.html
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1100406/images/06inbig.jpg
http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/punjab-polls-akali-dal-vs-congress-punjab-
voters/1/166287.html
http://www.iisc.ernet.in/currsci/oct25/oct25images/1058.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarasvati_River
http://www.harekrsna.com/sun/features/10-12/features2601.htm
http://www.gsbkerala.com/saraswatih.htm