SYL canal issue: SAD appeals to people to gherao central team coming for land survey in Punjab

Chandigarh, October 5

Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Bikram Singh Majithia Thursday appealed to the people of Punjab to gherao central teams wishing to conduct a survey of the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal land in the state.

The party asserted that it was ready for any sacrifice but would not allow the canal to come up in the state.

Majithia’s remarks came a day after the Supreme Court asked the Centre to survey the portion of land in Punjab which was allocated for the construction of a part of the SYL canal in the state and make an estimate of the extent of construction carried out there.

He said that if a survey team comes to the state, it should be gheraoed, and added his party would not allow any such survey in the state.

Opposing such a survey, he said half of Punjab’s districts are in the dark zone due to severe depletion of groundwater and “water is not reaching our farmers.” “Former chief minister Parkash Singh Badal returned more than 4,500 acres of land acquired for the SYL canal back to the 21,000 original owners free of cost,” he said.

Majithia also asked the AAP government as well as the state unit of the BJP to clarify their stand on the survey which was to be conducted by the central government.

He condemned Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar for maintaining a deafening silence on “such an important issue” which concerned the very future of Punjab and its farmers.

He also asked the Punjab BJP chief to officially tell the central government to desist from conducting any survey to identify land for the SYL canal.

He also accused the Punjab chief minister of deliberately weakening Punjab’s case on the SYL canal issue in the Supreme Court as part of a “conspiracy”.

The SAD leader also flayed the AAP government for “failing” to come out with a definite strategy to save the river waters of Punjab.

The SYL canal was conceptualised for effective allocation of water from the Ravi and Beas rivers. The project envisaged a 214-km canal, of which a 122-km stretch was to be constructed in Punjab and the remaining 92 km in Haryana.

Haryana has completed the project in its territory but Punjab, which launched the construction work in 1982, shelved it subsequently.