R'sthan CM raises polluted water issue with Punjab

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje today raised the issue of polluted water coming in Indira Gandhi Canal in the state and urged her Punjab counterpart Prakash Singh Badal to look into the issue.
Speaking at the launching programme of soil health card scheme here, Raje said that polluted water flowing into the desert state of Rajasthan has made matters worse for the residents and people were getting diseases like cancer from the canal water which is the source of both irrigation and drinking water in the North Western part of the state.
"Pollutants are flowing in the canal which are coming from your state. The matter needs urgent attention. The condition is so serious that train coming from here is called as 'cancer special train'," she said, while requesting Singh to ensure that his government takes immediate steps in checking inflow of pollutants into rivers.

The Indira Gandhi Canal supplies drinking and irrigation water to districts in north-west Rajasthan.
It begins from Harike Barrage at the confluence of Sutlej and Beas rivers in Punjab and enters Rajasthan after passing through Haryana.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also said that there were water-related disputes among states.

He said that there was a need to find ways to resolve the matter by sitting together so that the nation can go far on the path of development.
Modi expressed hope that the state of Rajasthan, which faces drought and acute water shortage, will come out of the image of 'Bimaru Rajya' (sick state)- a term, he said, was used for states like Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh but Madhya Pradesh was no more a Bimaru Rajya and Rajasthan will also come out of this category during the present government rule.

Earlier, Raje said that the state in present has a debt of Rs 2.10 lakh crore including Rs 75,000 crore on power companies.
She said that her government took initiative in olive cultivation which has delivered encouraging results.