Explain stand taken on SYL issue, Akali Dal asks Punjab CM

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today asked Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to explain what stand he had taken at the joint meeting with his Haryana counterpart and the Union Jal Shakti Minister on the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. The party asked the CM not to link the issue with the Indus Waters Treaty.

In a statement here, senior leader Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the CM had only stated that he had put up Punjab’s stand at the meeting but had not spelt out the stand taken by him.

Asserting that the SYL canal issue was the one which was linked with the life of Punjab and its agricultural economy, Dr Cheema said the CM should make Punjab’s stand public so that Punjabis also understood that their government was with them and would safeguard their river waters come what may.