Mohali: Punjab farmers protest water crisis

Mohali, June 30

Members of the Kirti Kisan Union from different districts of the state today staged a protest demanding a solution to the deepening water crisis in Punjab. The protesters also tried to enter Chandigarh after crossing the barrier at the Mohali-Chandigarh border.

Farmers held a rally in front of Gurdwara Amb Sahib following which they marched towards Chandigarh to hand over a memorandum to the Punjab Chief Minister.

Addressing the protesting farmers, Kirti Kisan Union president Nirbhai Singh Dhudike and vice-president Rajinder Singh Deep Singh Wala said Punjab, despite being the dominant state of agriculture, was facing severe shortage of water for farming. They said the crisis was getting worse day by day due to mismanagement of three sources of water — groundwater, river-canal water and rainwater.

They said the right to water of the state had been robbed by the Union Government through the Dam Security Act under the agenda of centralisation. They urged farmers to mobilise a massive public struggle against the Union Government for getting this Act repealed. They also demanded that the Punjab Government should pass a resolution in the Assembly for repealing the law.