A view of a sewage treatment plant in Haryana’ Sirsa district. | Photo credit: Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Suresh Kumar’s eyes light up as he recalls his childhood days spent in the clear waters of the Ghaggar river, catching fish and sunbathing with friends. “We saw the fish swimming, it was crystal clear,” he exclaimed, still in awe. That was when the intermittent, monsoon-fed river was the heart of Mallewala village in Haryana’s Sirsa, about 250 kilometers west of Delhi.
Kumar, a 40-year-old primary school teacher a stone’s throw from the river, which flows mainly through parts of Haryana and Punjab, recalls how the Ghaggar once hummed with life: children bathed, women washed clothes and farmers led their animals to drink from its waters. His college friends marveled at the river’s beauty when they visited him from Hisar, and he took them on impromptu boat trips.
Watch: Cancer Courses via Ghaggar
| Video Credit: Mohammed Almas, Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Published – 13 Apr 2026 02:00 IST
