INLD to stop Punjab vehicles on May 25 amid water row
Warns of permanent sit-in on border if neighbouring state fails to release full quota of water from June 1
Deciding to step up pressure on Punjab over the Bhakra water dispute, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) on Tuesday announced a blockade of the Punjab-Haryana border on May 25, warning that all vehicles bearing Punjab number plates would be stopped.
The party threatened to escalate the protest by setting up permanent protest camps (morchas) along the border if Punjab fails to release the full quota of water to Haryana by June 1.
Addressing a press conference after a meeting of the party’s national and state executive bodies in Chandigarh, INLD national president Abhay Singh Chautala accused the Punjab government of releasing only 5,000 cusecs of water instead of the agreed 9,000 cusecs from the Bhakra system. He said the shortfall had led to a severe water crisis in Haryana, affecting not just irrigation but also drinking water for people and livestock.
“We will not accept even one cusec less than 9,000 cusec. If Punjab does not comply, we will begin permanent sit-in protests from June 1,” Chautala declared. “On May 25, we will enforce a symbolic blockade of Punjab-Haryana border routes, and all vehicles with Punjab number plates will be stopped.”
The party plans to seal the borders in different regions. In the Ambala zone, INLD state president Rampal Majra will lead the blockade at two Punjab border points. At Sirsa, the protest will be led by Aditya Devilal, while Abhay Chautala himself will lead the agitation at the Narwana border with support from the Gurugram zone and Jind district units.
Chautala also extended an invitation to the Congress to join the agitation, saying, “If the Congress is truly serious about the water issue, it should stand with us in this struggle.”
The party also passed a resolution to revive its agitation for the construction of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, a long-pending inter-state water dispute between Punjab and Haryana.
In protest against Punjab’s refusal to release Bhakra waters, a 15-member delegation of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD), led by its national president Abhay Singh Chautala, met Haryana governor Bandaru Dattatraya on Wednesday morning and submitted a memorandum.
