Amid SYL meet in UT, farmer unions hold protest in Mohali

Mohali, December 28

Members of five farmers unions staged a protest bearing black flags against the Central Government team, set to visit Punjab regarding the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) water canal, near Dara Studio in Mohali today.

Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat held a meeting with the chief ministers of Haryana and Punjab to discuss the matter, in Chandigarh.

As the Chandigarh Police sealed the border, the protestors staged a dharna on the road in front of the Phase 6 gurdwara. A demand letter addressed to Gajendra Singh was also handed over to Mohali SDM.

Raising slogans, the protesters said that the issue of SYL water is a state subject and the Central Government has no right to meddle in it. “It is Punjab’s prerogative to decide whom they wish to give excess water to and at what rate. The Centre should refrain from interfering. We also want to raise the problem of political parties gaining mileage using this,” the protesters said.

The members said they would stage a “pucca morcha” in Chandigarh on January 18. As the administration has been intimated about it, if they do not allot a site for the protest till January 6, a massive struggle will be launched in Chandigarh, they added.