E-Paper
SYL Canal issue: Police use water cannon against Punjab Congress workers
State Congress wanted to meet governor Banwarilal Purohit and give him a representation on the Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal dispute with Haryana
Police on Monday used a water cannon to disperse Congress workers marching towards Punjab Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal issue.
The state Congress said it wanted to meet governor Banwarilal Purohit and give him a representation on the SYL issue.
Congress leaders, including the party’s state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, leader of opposition in the assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, former 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.
Addressing Congress leaders and workers outside the party headquarters, 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 Man-led Aam Aadmi Party government, alleging that the Punjab government had failed to safeguard the interests of the state over the SYL issue.
On Sunday, Mann challenged the BJP, Congress and the Shiromani Akali Dal to an open debate on issues pertaining to the state on November 1, amid opposition parties’ criticism over the issue of SYL Canal.
The state BJP had on Saturday held a protest, accusing the AAP government of failing to safeguard Punjab’s interest on river water.
On October 4, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab that 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 was conceptualised 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.
