Indefinite strike by canal patwaris gives BJP ammo to target govt

Raj Sadosh

Abohar, May 18

The indefinite strike and dharna by patwaris of the Canal Department has led the BJP to target the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab, raking up the canal water issue. It has been considered a major concern in all the previous elections in the Abohar subdivision where farmers find groundwater unfit for crops.

Coercive action taken

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The Canal Patwari Union block president Sukhdev Singh Mann said that the state govt was using coercive steps against the patwaris because they refused to send a false report that 100 percent canal water is reaching the villages located at the tail-end.

Breach of promise

• The sit-in or dharna continued on Saturday inside the Canal Department’s divisional office complex for the third consecutive day.
• The villagers don’t get sufficient water through the canals which have choked several times and the water accumulated in these villages is not drained out properly.
• In this kinnow fruit-growing area, pink bollworm has been a permanent problem as the government has not tackled the sale of substandard seeds, insecticides and nurseries as well.

The sit-in or dharna continued on Saturday inside the Canal Department’s divisional office complex in Abohar for the third consecutive day.

Canal Patwari Union block president Sukhdev Singh Mann said the state government was using coercive steps against the patwaris because they refused to send a false report stating that 100 per cent canal water had been reaching the villages located at the tail-end.

Union’s state president Jaskaran Singh Gehri Butter opposed the move and was placed under suspension. He was directed to report on the Shah Kandi project. About 200 patwaris have been issued chargesheets for participating in the protests.

BJP candidate and former minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi said during his meetings in Waryam Khera and other villages, it was a double whammy for the village residents. They don’t get sufficient water through the canals which have choked several times and water accumulated in these villages is not drained out properly. In this kinnow fruit-growing area, pink bollworm has been a permanent problem as the government has not tackled the sale of substandard seeds, insecticides and nurseries.

When Sodhi asked people whether they have been getting canal water as their demand in the past two years, many raised their hands and refused.

Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar said the Aam Aadmi Party, which formed the government in Punjab two years ago, should be taught a lesson for the breach of promises. The state government had totally neglected Abohar area in development.

All works were in the limbo even when CM Bhagwant Mann had in the Assembly assured that sufficient funds would be released and the work will be completed at a fast pace.