Chandrabhaga, a lost Ancient River, found in Odisha.

India’s northwest, scientists at the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur (IIT-KgP) now claim they have found evidence of another “lost” Indian river  Called “Chandrabhaga“, this ancient river is believed to have existed at a distance of about two km from the 13th century Sun Temple at Konark, a Unesco World Heritage Site in the eastern state of Odisha.  The IIT study aimed to verify this myth. They did this through

integrated geological and geophysical exploration in conjunction with historical evidence and analysis of satellite data.

Imagery from Landsat and Terra satellites of the US and those obtained by NASA Space Shuttle Endeavour’s “Radar Topographic Mission” in 2000 were used.

According to their report, the satellite imagery and Google Earth image showed a “sinusoidal” trace, characteristic of a typical “palaeo-channel” — remnant of an inactive river — passing north of the Sun Temple extending approximately parallel to the coast.

Combining the myths with scientific and historical evidence, the identified palaeo-channel may be correlated to the lost river Chandrabhaga.

According to the IIT team, identification of such a palaeo-channel “may lead to the delineation of pockets of freshwater zones within a dominantly saline water environment, and may even partially alleviate the drinking-water problem along the Odisha coast.