The Gramin Kisan Mazdoor Samiti (GKS) has accused Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann of making false statements, in which he had claimed that Rajasthan has not demanded water. They said that Punjab could have minimized the havoc that floods wreaked by diverting water to Rajasthan canals, they said. expressed serious concern over Sriganganagar district not getting full water from Gang Canal despite the severe flood situation in Punjab.

GKS state convener Ranjit Singh Raju, co-convener Vikram Singh Shergill, district president Ram Kumar Saharan, Gang Canal Project Chairman Harvinder Singh Gill, Daljit Singh, Roshan Singh and Labh Singh that for the last three months, farmer organizations including GKS have been continuously demanding full water from Punjab in Gang Canal. To raise the demand, dharnas, demonstrations were organized, as well as dozens of memorandums were submitted to the Water Resources Departments in Rajasthan and Punjab.

They said that the Water Resources Department of Rajasthan is continuously giving an indent to release 3000 cusecs of water from Ferozepur’s RD 45 headworks into the Gang Canal during the meetings of Bhakra Beas Management Board. Even in the month of August, the BBMB had decided to give 3000 cusecs of water to Gang Canal but the decision was not implemented.

GKS said that hundreds of villages in 10 districts of Punjab including Fazilka are in the grip of floods, yet only 2100 cusecs of water is being given from the said headworks instead of 3000 cusecs. There has not been enough rain in Sriganganagar district yet, due to which farmers are in dire need of water for irrigation. On the other hand, thousands of villages are getting submerged in Punjab.