SYL: Camaraderie disturbed, say villagers

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 22

“Ithay ton kisse ne nahi aauna. Tusi patarkaar vi kabrao na (Nobody will come from this side. Journalists should not worry),” said Haryana’s Harjit Singh, who owns land in Ismailpur village. He claimed that no political outfit could dig the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal.

Ismailpur is the first village in Haryana’s Ambala district and borders Kapoori village in Patiala district.

Water flows in the canal near the Haryana border with Irrigation Department officials claiming that part of the canal in Punjab gets water from Bhakhra, but it is too less to flow to Ambala.

The SYL canal at almost the entire stretch near Kapoori passes along the Bhakhra Main Line, which is full of water.

Roads and two bridges in Ismailpur had no police presence in spite of an alert, and there was no restriction on the entry of vehicles as a team of The Tribune visited the site today afternoon. The police, however, have put up a naka 2 km inside Punjab.

A group of five elderly farmers sitting on the outskirts of Kapoori said that the INLD and for that matter any other party could not dig the canal. They pointed to water in the canal to prove their point.

“Whatever little water flows in it is because of monsoon and nearby Bhakhra channel. Can you believe that anyone can dig it with tools or machinery? The announcement to dig the canal is just to hog the limelight,” one of them said. Others nodded.

Two of them — Sarbjit Singh and Ram Kishan — were from Haryana, while the rest were from Punjab.

They were worried that calls for a march over riverwaters had disturbed camaraderie among people, who were one once.

“The dispute is among two states, and not two countries. There has to be a solution. Communities cannot be divided over a matter that does not suit one political party,” a farmer said.

Villagers in Kapoori, where the foundation stone of the canal was laid, said the canal had turned fellow villagers, who were once neighbours, into enemies. For this, they blamed political leadership of the two states.

“The INLD’s announcement is a political stunt. As the party is fighting for its survival, it dawned upon its leadership to safeguard Haryana’s interests,” Kapoori resident Baldev Singh said. “In Punjab, the ruling SAD-BJP alliance and the Congress did nothing for years. Now, they are issuing statements that they won’t allow water to flow out of Punjab.”

Some villagers said political outfits were raking up the matter to settle scores. “It is like playing a political football for vested interests,” said Gurjant Singh, who got back 3 acres acquired for the canal.

“The Punjab Government tells the Supreme Court that land was returned to actual owners and it was difficult to re-acquire the land. It’s a disputed land and owners do not know whether or not they own it. Further, the land has been dug deep. At some places, the depth is more than 20 ft. I do not have resources to fill the land and start irrigation,” he said.