Central team visiting SYL faces protests

Tribune News Service

Ropar, March 22

A central team headed by Dalip Kumar, Joint Secretary, Union Home Ministry, today visited the district to assess the damage caused by farmers to the Sultej-Yamuna Link canal (SYL) on March 15 and 16 after the Punjab Assembly had passed the Punjab Satluj-Yamuna Link Canal Land (Transfer of Property Rights) Bill, 2016.

On Haryana's plea, the apex court, in its interim order dated March 17, had appointed the Union Home Secretary and Punjab's Chief Secretary and Director General of Police (DGP) as 'joint receiver' of land and other SYL property till the next date of hearing on March 31.

Dalip Kumar, who was accompanied by Chief Engineer of the Central Water Commission Ashok S Goyal and Punjab Irrigation Secretary KS Pannu, will submit a report to the Centre. The team visited Inederpura-Dhakki and Doomchheri villages in Ropar district.

The team members started from Kaami village in Patiala district, where they were shown black flags. Covering more villages on the Rajpura-Banur road, they reached Chunni Kalan and Badheri in Fatehgarh Sahib district in the afternoon. At Chunni Kalan, hundreds of farmers led by SAD leaders Didar Singh

Bhatti, halqa chief, and Ranjit Singh Libra, SAD's district president, submitted a memorandum.

Farmers, led by local SAD leaders, staged protests at Inderpura as well as Doomchheri. At Inderpura, Ropar Municipal Council president Paramjit Singh Makkar, Ropar Municipal Council members Bawa Singh and Manjinder Dhanao, Zila Parishad member Harpreet Singh Basant, Ropar Market Committee chairman Manjit Singh Ghanauli and SAD youth leader RP Shally were among the protesters.

At Doomchheri, the protests were led by SAD constituency in charge Jagmeet Kaur Sandhu, Satwant Kaur Sandhu, former minister, Harinder Pal Singh Chandumajra, son of SAD MP Prem Singh Chandumajra, and BKU (Sidhupur) vice-president Mehar Singh.