Muktsar, September 4 – Former union minister and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal today condemned the insidious conspiracy to increase canal water supply to Rajasthan by forcibly closing lift irrigation pumps installed by farmers in this and neighbouring districts.
Mrs Harsimrat Badal, who visited Lalbai village in this district and interacted with farmers, said “it is shocking that the AAP government is forcing farmers to operate lift pumps at one week intervals or face registration of cases. Those farmers who have been allocated canal water share are being banned from operating lift pumps altogether with the order being enforced by the police”.
Condemning the high handedness being done against farmers, Mrs Badal said “some of these pumps have been running for 25 years after permission to run the same was given during the erstwhile S Parkash Singh Badal government of 1997-2002. Farmers have spent a huge amount of money to take the water to their fields through underground pipes and are in no position to forsake this facility”. She condemned the government for first forcing farmers to reduce the size of their pumps and then penalizing them for voltage peaks even though they were paying for power at commercial rates. She said around 700 pumps were affected in Muktsar, Abohar and Ferozepur.
Telling farmers that the SAD stood with them and would not allow the AAP government to discriminate against its own farmers for political benefit, Mrs Badal said “the AAP government wants to show an artificial increase in the water capacity of the canals taking water to Rajasthan so that additional water can be given to the State. This is being done to establish AAP in Rajasthan and chief minister Bhagwant Mann is leading the campaign”. She cited the repeated meetings the chief minister had held with Rajasthan MP Hanuman Beniwal which had resulted in an increase in water supply to Rajasthan before it was stopped after protests by the SAD. “Now this conspiracy has been initiated again by targeting lift pump usage of Punjab farmers to increase canal water share of Rajasthan”
Condemning the chief minister for this anti-farmer decision, Mrs Badal said “this is the same chief minister who closed the Rajasthan feeder canal during the floods last month resulting in devastation of thousands of acres of land in villages in Ferozepur district. Today when farmers in Punjab need water to rear their paddy crop, the chief minister is proceeding with a plan to increase the canal water share of Rajasthan”. Mrs Badal assured farmers operating lift pumps that the SAD would not allow the nefarious designs of the AAP government to succeed.
Mrs Badal also condemned the increase in release of canal water to Haryana, saying this was also part of AAP’s strategy to win votes in Haryana. “AAP has not only given its assent for construction of the SYL canal in court but has also made this an election issue in Haryana by promising to construct the SYL canal at the cost of the welfare of farmers of Punjab”.