With the issue of the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal, the focal point of a water-sharing dispute between Punjab and Haryana yet again at the centre stage after the recent meeting between Chief Ministers of both States and a Union Minister, the radical Sikh outfit Dal Khalsa has cautioned that any attempt to construct the SYL canal has a potential to trigger the “revival of armed rebellion in Punjab.”
Dal Khalsa spokesperson Kanwar Pal Singh said digging of the SYL canal was next to impossible and that the people of Punjab would not allow this to happen.
“Punjab owns the waters of the rivers Sutlej, Ravi and Beas and no legislation or court could deprive the State of its legitimate right of ownership. We will defend the rights of the State at any cost and would not let anybody take away the waters forcefully with State’s might and if it will happen, we have a right to resist and fight back,” said Mr. Singh.
Riparian principle
Disagreeing with Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on the need for a fresh tribunal to make a fresh time-bound assessment of water availability, Mr. Singh said instead of opting for delaying tactics, the Chief Minister should address the water problem of the State strictly based on riparian principle.
“Khalistani militants have laid down their lives and suffered imprisonment for years for defending the waters. We won’t let their sacrifices go in vain,” he said, in a statement.
The SYL canal, the foundation for which was laid way back in 1982, was to link the Sutlej and Yamuna rivers in Punjab and Haryana, but the project never saw the light of the day as in the 1990s — amid the rise in terrorism — water sharing became a sensitive issue. Terrorists even gunned down officials and workers involved in the construction of the SYL canal in a bid to halt the project.
The meeting on the SYL issue was held on August 18 in which Capt. Amarinder Singh, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat participated. It was decided that the Chief Ministers of Punjab and Haryana will meet in Chandigarh, on a date to be fixed later, for further talks on the issue.
