Saraswati River and Water Heritage of Patan

Patan city was built on the banks of the Saraswati river, now largely dry, which once sustained a prosperous agricultural hinterland and supplied the city with water through an elaborate system of kunds, vavs (stepwells), and canals. The Saraswati, identified by some scholars with the ancient Vedic Saraswati river, originates in the Aravalli foothills and flows seasonally through north Gujarat. Patan's multiple stepwells (over 100 have been documented) formed an integrated water harvesting system, collecting both surface runoff and subsurface seepage. Traditional tank irrigation (vav-talav system) sustained wheat, bajra, and sugarcane cultivation in Patan's agricultural zone. The collapse of Saraswati flow, attributed to upstream groundwater extraction and river diversion, has led to severe groundwater depletion in Patan district. Government watershed development programmes are attempting to restore subsurface recharge through check-dams.