Haryana Chief Minister, Manohar Lal Khattar, on Friday said the Saraswati river, which has been extinct since many years, will be rejuvenated with the construction of Adi Badri Dam.

From time immemorial, religious beliefs will also be revived with the rejuvenation of Saraswati river, along with this the area will also develop as a pilgrimage site, the CM said while speaking at the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signing ceremony held for the construction of Dam at Adibadri in the presence of Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur at PWD Rest House, Panchkula today.

Khattar said today his 35-year-old dream has come true. He had travelled in the year 1986-87 in connection with the research being done regarding the revival of Saraswati. This journey started from Adi Badri in Yamunanagar and reached Kutch.

Due to the construction of Adi Badri Dam, 20 cusecs of water will flow continuously in the Saraswati river. With this, water will flow in Saraswati throughout the year, added the CM.

He said that there is not only a religious belief regarding the flow of Saraswati river, but its presence underground has also been proved through satellite.

Haryana government has notified an area of 200 kilometer from Adi Badri to Ghaggar river via Kaithal for Saraswati river. A mention of the same can also be found in the revenue records.

The CM said this dam would be built on 31.66 hectares of land in Himachal Pradesh region and an amount of Rs 215.33 Crore would be spent for the same. It will store 224.58-hectare meters of water every year, of which Himachal Pradesh will get 61.88-hectare meters of water and Haryana will get the remaining 162-hectare meters of water. This water will flow into the Saraswati river.

The width of this dam will be 101.06 meters and the height will be 20.5 meters. Around 20 cusecs of water from the dam will flow into the Saraswati river throughout the year, added Sh. Manohar Lal.

Khattar said the objective of this project is to revive the Saraswati river as well as increasing the groundwater level. With the commissioning of the dam, the flood situation arising out of excessive rainfall during the rainy days will also be dealt with. The lake being built near it will also promote tourism. The CM said with the construction of Adi Badri Dam, the area around it would also develop as a pilgrimage.