Sahibi River

The Sahibi River is an ephemeral, rain-fed river in India.^[1] It is variously called the Sabi River or Sabi Nadi (nadi means river in Hindi). In Delhi, it is called the Najafgarh Drain or Najafgarh Nallah.

Geography

The Sahibi River rises in the Aravali Hills, near Jitgarh, Manoharpur, and the district of Jaipur in Rajasthan. After gathering volume from a hundred tributaries, the Sahibi River forms a broad stream around Alwar and Kotputli. It then enters the Rewari district in Haryana, near the city of Rewari, after which it re-enters first Rajasthan near Kot Kasim, and then Haryana, near the village of Jarthal. The dry riverbed near Jarthal is two kilometers wide. During light monsoon rainfall, the river's flat and sandy bottom absorbs all rainwater. During heavy rains, the river branches off into two smaller streams at Rohtak, finally reaching the outskirts of Delhi through Nala No. 8 and ending at the Yamuna River.

Catchment area

The catchment area of the Sahibi River is 4442 square kilometers. The catchment area encompasses the following cities and towns: Sikar, Jaipur, and Alwar in northeastern Rajasthan; Bawal, Rewari, Patoudi, and Gurgaon, in Haryana; and Delhi.

Within Delhi

The Najafgarh Drain or Najafgarh Nallah (nallah in Hindi means drain) is another name for the Sahibi River, which continues its flow through Delhi where it is channelised for flood control purposes. It is a tributary to the Yamuna River, into which it flows. The Najafgarh Drain gets its name from the once famous and huge Najafgarh Lake near the town of Najafgarh in southwest Delhi. The Najafgarh Drain is the capital’s most polluted body of water due to the direct inflow of untreated sewage from surrounding populated areas. Assessing the water quality of wetlands in wildlife habitats, a January 2005 report by the Central Pollution Control Board rated the Najafgarh Drain under category D, along with 13 other highly polluted wetlands.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Regulators at the Keshopur Bus Depot on the Outer Ring Road are wide with thick and high embankments. A vast amount of water is retained in this widened drain by closing the Kakrola regulators under Najafgarh Road to recharge the local groundwater table.^[7]

History

Prior to 1960, the rain-fed Sahibi River entered Delhi near Dhansa and spilled its overflow in the Najafgarh Jheel basin, creating a seasonal lake. A vast area more than 300 sqyare kilometers was submerged in some seasons. In the following decades, the Sahibi River flow reaching Dhansa was channelised by digging a wide drain and connecting it directly to the Yamuna River, completely draining the seasonal Najafgarh Jheel.

The Sahibi River flooded in 1977. In response, the Masani Barrage was constructed near Masani.^[8][9] Several smaller dams have also been constructed throughout the hills of Rajasthan to store rainwater. The construction of dams has restricted the flow of water on the Sahibi River and it is now rare for water overflow from monsoon rains to reach up the Masani Barrage.

Archaeological findings

Harrapan period earthenware (Pottery) found on the Sahibi riverbed by INTACH-Rewari, at Hansaka village, Rewari District, 2012

Archaeological findings on the Sahibi River have confirmed habitations on its banks before the Harappan and pre-Mahabharata periods. Both handmade and wheel-made earthernware dated from 3309–2709 BCE and 2879–2384 BCE has been found on the banks of the Sahibi River at Jodhpura. INTACH-Rewari found pottery on the Sahibi riverbed at Hansaka in the Rewari district. A red stone statue of Vamana Dev was found in the Sahibi riverbed near Bawal in 2002; the statue is now displayed at the Shri Krishna Museum, Kurukshetra.^{[citation needed]} Other artifacts discovered in the Sahibi River include arrowheads, fishhooks, appearheads, awls, and chisels.^[10]

The Sahibi River has been identified by the Brahmavarta Research Foundation as the Drishadwati River of the Vedic period.^[11] The Drishadwati River formed one border of the Vedic state of Brahmavarta and was mentioned in the Rigveda, the Manusmriti, and the Brahmin Granths texts.

Bridges

Several bridges cross the Sahibi River. A bridge on State Highway No. 14 crosses the river between Bansur and Kotputli. On State Highway No. 52, a bridge crosses the river between Ajaraka and Dadhiya. The Masani Bridge on NH-8 crosses the river between Deli and Jaipur. A railroad bridge between Ajaraka and Bawal also crosses the river.

See also

• List of rivers of Rajasthan
• List of rivers of India
• List of dams and reservoirs in India

References

Coordinates: 28°29′N 76°44′E / 28.483°N 76.733°E / 28.483; 76.733