Sukhbir asks Centre to treat states entire canal system as one

On Day Two of his tour of Bhagapurana and Faridkot villages,Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the Punjab government had requested the Centre to make relevant amendments in the rules to treat the complete canal system of Punjab as one canal.

On Day Two of his tour of Bhagapurana and Faridkot villages,Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal said the Punjab government had requested the Centre to make relevant amendments in the rules to treat the complete canal system of Punjab as one canal.

Under the existing rules,according to him,the Planning Commission grants aid for construction of one canal at a time and only after its completion is the grant for another canal released. Construction work of this size takes a long time and hence the Centre should treat the entire canal system of Punjab as one and immediately release a grant of Rs 3,000 crore to rejuvenate the 150-year-old canal system in one go and save water lost due to seepage, he said.

Sukhbir was speaking after inaugurating a 15-kilometre canal (minor) at Araianwala village in Faridkot district on Wednesday. This canal has been constructed at a cost of Rs 8.5 crore.

The deputy CM also demanded canalisation of Ghaggar be treated as a national project. He also demanded that the Centre should declare Punjab as a special agriculture zone and give subsidies and facilities to the agriculture sector,as is given to industry in special economic zones.

At Moga,the police rounded up 35-odd elementary teachers when they tried to enter the venue where Sukhbir was attending a programme. Their colleagues said they wanted to meet the deputy CM and put forward their demand for regular jobs,but were instead caned by the police. SSP Snehdeep Sharma denied the allegation. The teachers were let off in the evening.

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