Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal on Wednesday came out strongly against what he described as “AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) conspiracy to destroy the Riparian basis of Punjab’s claim on the water of its rivers”.
“Bhagwant Mann (Punjab Chief Minister) is a willing tool in this conspiracy. The whole idea of linkage of Yamuna with Satluj is an age-old devious ploy to destroy all constitutional basis of Punjab claim and this conspiracy had always been thwarted by SAD’s strong opposition to it. The river linkage is aimed at taking away Satluj waters to Haryana on the pretext of creating a shared pool of water,” said Badal, adding Bhagwant Mann must prepare to face Agitation against this idea.
“The whole idea is preposterous. If Haryana is to get only Yamuna waters from combined pools why not simply ask it to continue to utilise it as it is doing now? The only purpose behind linkage is to drain into Punjab’s river waters,” he added.
The SAD chief said that his party will oppose this conspiracy tooth and nail. “Not a single drop of water belonging to Punjab will be allowed to be taken away from us against the well-laid Riparian principle,” he added.
Earlier today, after a meeting with his Haryana counterpart Manohar Lal Khattar in the presence of Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in New Delhi on the issue of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, Punjab CM batted for changing the nomenclature and proposal of the project.
He said instead of the SYL canal, the project should be now conceived as Yamuna Sutlej Link (YSL). He said that the Satluj river has already dried up and there is no question of sharing even a single drop of water from it. Mann said that water from Ganga and Yamuna should be supplied to Punjab through the Satluj river.
The CM said this is the only viable alternative that can be considered in wake of the alarming situation of water scarcity in the state. He said that despite being smaller in area, Haryana is getting more water than Punjab and ironically it is demanding more water at the cost of Punjab. “How can we give water to Haryana if our own fields are starving for it,” Mann said.