Chautang

Origin and route

The Chautang river is a seasonal river in the state of Haryana, India. It is theorized by some to be a remnant of the ancient river Drishadvati. It joins the Ghaggar-Hakra River east of Suratgarh in Rajasthan. According to McIntosh, this river was one of the main contributors to this river system until the Yamuna changed its course.

However, according to Giosan, the Chautang is a rain-fed river, and the Yamuna changed its course towards east some 50,000 to 10,000 years ago, and did not pour any water into it for the last 10,000 years. Firuz Tughluq (A.D. 1351-1388) rejuvenated a canal from the Yamuna which entered the district at Anta (tahsil Safidon) and then flowed through the present Jind District from east to west in the line of the old Chautang river, passing the towns of Safidon, Dhatrath and Jind, and reaching Hisar.

This branch was built in the paleochannel of the seasonal Chautang river, which is a relict of the Drishadvati river flowing from Kaithal to Hisar district, passing through the towns of Jind, Hansi, Hisar, the largest Indus Valley civilisation site of Rakhigarhi, and the ancient Agroha Mound. The Rakshi river, a non-perennial monsoon season tributary of the Chautang, originates from the Shivalik Hills at Shahpur village in the Yamunanagar district, flows 32 km south, and joins the Chautang river near Ladwa in the Kurukshetra district.

The Haryana government has rejuvenated the river by diverting water from the Chetang nullah from Bubka head into the Rakshi river, replenishing groundwater levels in 50 villages in the Yamunanagar, Kurukshetra, and Karnal districts. The rejuvenation of the Rakshi river is part of a larger plan by the Haryana Sarasvati Heritage Development Board (HSHDB) to revive other rivers in the state, including the Somb river, Chautang, Tangri, Markanda, and Ghaggar.