Building SYL canal can 'trigger militancy' in Punjab:Amarinder

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh today warned of "resurgence of militancy in Punjab", if the SYL canal is built without factoring in the realities of old "Naxalite and Khalistani belt" of the state's southern part.
Amarinder claimed that with an estimated 10 lakh acres of land in southern Punjab expected to go dry as a result of SYL, the 6 lakh odd people of the region, which has a "history of militancy and extremism", would be "forced to resort to violence to feed their children."
The sub-soil water in the area was brackish and the people were dependent on canal water even for their drinking needs, he said, warning that the people of southern Punjab would come out on the streets if their crops dried up and their families were deprived of even the basic necessities of life.

The Punjab Congress president said Supreme Court's directive on the SYL completion "before going into the question of availability of water amounted to putting the cart before the horse."
"If the court, in its wisdom, later discovers that there is no water then the money invested in SYL construction would go down the drain," Amarinder said, adding that the "cash crunched" Punjab could ill afford the same.
"It was imperative first to make an independent and fresh assessment to check if there was water available in Punjab, and how much, if any, could be spared for sharing with other states," he said in a statement released here.

Amarinder's comments came even as tensions between Punjab and Haryana touch a high amid the Indian National Lok Dal's attempts to force entry into Punjab to start digging for SYL.

Several INLD leaders, including Abhay Chautala, were stopped today from marching into Punjab to undertake the digging of the SYL canal and arrested for breaching the prohibitory orders.
Reacting to Chautala's threat not to allow any Punjab leader to enter Haryana, Amarinder termed it totally irresponsible and a desperate bid to revive INLD following today's "flop show".
No Indian citizen can be prevented from going to any part of the country, he added.

The Congress chief ministerial candidate stated that yesterday the Supreme Court itself had taken note of the looming threat of law and order breakdown as a result of the INLD action and had directed the governments in the two states to ensure that peace is maintained at all costs.
Failure to bring the SYL-triggered tensions under control would have "disastrous consequences" in the form of a complete law and order breakdown, with the grave potential of leading to "resurgence of militancy in Punjab", he warned.