Chautang

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.^[3] It joins the Ghaggar-Hakra River east of Suratgarh in Rajasthan.^[4] According to McIntosh, this river was one of the main contributors to this river system until the Yamuna changed its course.^[3] 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 didn't pour any water into it for the last 10,000 years.^{[5][need quotation to verify]} Hansi Branch of Western Yamuna Canal is palaeochannel of this river.^[6]

Firuz Tughluq ( A.D. 1351-1388) rejuvenated the canal from the Yamuna which entered the district at Anta (tahsil Safidon) and thence flowing through the present Jind District from east to west in the line of the old Chautang river passing the town of Safidon, Dhatrath and Jind and reached Hisar.^[7] This branch was built in the paleochannel of seasonal Chautang river which is a relict of Drishadvati river flowing from Kaithal to Hisar district, passing through the towns of Jind, Hansi, Hisar, largest Indus Valley civilization site of Rakhigarhi and ancient Agroha Mound. Drishadvati river itself was a tributary of the Ghaggar-Hakra River.^[8]

Rakshi river, a non-perennial monsoon season tributary of Chautang, originates from Shivalik Hills at Shahpur village in the Yamunanagar district, flows 32 km south and confluence with Chautang river near Ladwa in the Kurukshetra district. Haryana government has rejuvenated the river by diverting water from the Chetang nullah from Bubka head into Rakshi river replenishing the 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.^[6]