SYL canal issue: Police use water cannon against Punjab Congress workers

PTI, Oct 9, 2023, 8:27 PM IST

Credit: PTI

Chandigarh: Police on Monday used a water cannon to disperse Congress workers marching towards the Punjab Raj Bhavan here over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue.

The Punjab Congress leaders said they wanted to meet Governor Banwarilal Purohit and give him a representation over the SYL issue.

Several Congress leaders including the party’s state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, former Punjab assembly speaker Rana KP Singh and other leaders were present.

Police had raised barricades to prevent protesters from moving towards the residence of the governor. When the Congress workers tried to force their way through barricades, they used a water cannon to stop them.

Later, police detained Congress leaders and workers.

Before heading towards the governor’s residence, the Congress held a protest outside the party headquarters here.

Addressing Congress leaders and workers, Bajwa said they will not allow a single drop of water from Punjab to flow to any other state and that they will also not allow the canal to be built.

He said Punjab has no surplus water to share with any other state.

The Congress leaders also targeted the Bhagwant Mann government, alleging that the Punjab government had failed to safeguard the interests of the state over the SYL issue.

Punjab Congress chief Warring sought to know why the governor was silent on the SYL issue. He said the governor should fight the state’s battle and he should say that “injustice” was being done to the state.

Warring asked the governor to write a letter to the central government informing it that the state does not have spare water for any other state.

He also slammed the AAP government for not taking a firm stand in the Supreme Court against the construction of the SYL canal.

“Rather they resorted to blaming the opposition and farmer unions for not letting them build the canal. In a way, the state government has said they are ready to construct the canal but we, the opposition, are stopping them. You need to stand for the people of the state, something you are failing to do on a daily basis,” said Warring.

Congress leader Bajwa accused the Mann government of working hand in glove with the BJP-led government at the Centre.

“The legal representatives of the AAP government in the recent Supreme Court hearing on the SYL canal issue backstabbed Punjab,” Bajwa alleged.

“I wish to inform the governor that Punjab has gone through a turmoil period for around 15 years and one of the leading causes was the SYL canal. I urge him to ensure that Punjab does not plunge into turmoil and disturbance once again”, he added.

The opposition leader said Haryana has more water than Punjab has. Haryana is already getting water from the Yamuna, he added.

“The survey for the SYL canal is not possible. The land (for the SYL canal) has been de-notified in 2016. The farmers have started ploughing the land. Meanwhile, Haryana is not facing water scarcity at all,” he added.

Bajwa also slammed police for using a water cannon against the Congress workers.

“Such draconian behaviour of the police will not be tolerated. We were marching peacefully to make our voices heard. Our democratic rights cannot be suppressed like this. We won’t let even a single drop of water go out of Punjab at any cost”, Bajwa added.

On October 4, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab which was allocated for the construction of part of the SYL canal in the state and make an estimate of the extent of construction carried out there.

The SYL canal issue has been a bone of contention between Punjab and Haryana for the past several years.

The SYL canal was conceptualized for effective allocation of water from the Ravi and Beas rivers. The project envisaged a 214-km canal, of which a 122-km stretch was to be constructed in Punjab and the remaining 92 km in Haryana.

Haryana has completed the project in its territory but Punjab, which launched the construction work in 1982, shelved it subsequently.