Farmers protest shortage of canal water in Abohar
Our Correspondent
Abohar, August 3
Hundreds of farmers from tail-end villages on Friday staged a dharna on the state highway near Rajpura village protesting poor availability of water through the Lambi minor (sub-canal) that emanates from Muktsar district and also feeds Balluana and Abohar areas.
The protest led to traffic jam as vehicles were diverted to link roads or the Defence Road that connects Rajasthan segments with Malout.
Supported by the Bhartiya Kisan Union, farmers from Pattisadiq, Jhurarkhera, Shergarh, Rajpura, Sherewala, Bishanpura and Dodewala villages took part in the protest.
BKU leaders Subhash Godara, Budh Ram Bishnoi and Sukhminder Singh said Executive Engineer of the Irrigation Department Mukhtiar Singh Rana had persuaded protesters to lift the dharna by assuring availability of water till the tail-end six weeks ago, but the assurance proved a farce. “Water is not even available for drinking,” Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, a progressive farmer, said.
Poonam Singh, SDM, Rahul Bhardwaj, DSP, and other officials tried to pursuade farmers to lift their protest, but they refused arguing that the XEN had not kept his word.
“Now that the Lambi minor is shut citing fall in water level in different dams, the dharna will continue till the water is released,” a BKU leader said.
