Notwithstanding the Punjab Government’s claims of ensuring adequate canal water supply to tail-end villages for irrigation, farmers on Friday staged a protest at the Canal Colony in Abohar over the scarcity of water.
Abohar MLA Sandeep Jakhar reached the protest site and extended his support to the agitating farmers. Farmers from Gumjal and Panniwala Mahla villages alleged that they had not been receiving adequate canal water as the required quantity was allegedly not being released into the Malukpur Minor canal.
In a letter addressed to Water Resources Minister Barinder Kumar Goyal, farmers said they had been grappling with inadequate water supply for a long time. They alleged that their orchards had started drying up, resulting in heavy financial losses.
Lashing out at the state government, MLA Sandeep Jakhar said that CM Bhagwant Mann had promised to ensure adequate canal water to tail-end villages, but the ground reality was entirely different. He invited the CM and Water Resources Minister to visit Abohar and assess the situation firsthand.
SDO (Canal) Jaswinder Singh, who reached the protest site, assured the farmers that the required quantity of canal water would be supplied to the tail-end villages by Saturday.
