Sanjha Morcha

Akalis didn’t prepare SYL case properly: Rana Gurjit

KHATKARKALAN(SBSNAGAR): Targeting the previous government over the Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue, power and irrigation minister Rana Gurjit Singh on Thursday alleged the Akalis had not prepared the case properly, which had now brought Punjab to the brink of severe water crisis.

PARDEEP PANDIT/HTCabinet minister Rana Gurjit Singh paying tributes to Bhagat Singh at the martyr’s native village Khatkar Kalan.

He was addressing a gathering at Khatkar Kalan village on the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh. The cabinet minister accused Akalis of making hollow claims of making sacrifices for the river waters but failed to raise the state’s concerns before the apex court.

“I have talked with chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh and his team is already in New Delhi to chalk out a strategy to present the issue strongly in the court,” he said, adding the government is trying to bring the case before a tribunal.

Slamming the SAD-BJP government of ignoring the Doaba region, Rana Gurjit said the Congress government will strengthen irrigation facilities in the region by setting up an advanced system of channelising water from rivers to farms through pipes.

Remembering the great sacrifices of freedom fighters and martyrs, he said Bhagat Singh, who had dreamed of a free and democratic nation, had never thought that the future generation will fall prey to drugs. He said the Congress government’s priority was to fulfil Capt’s commitment of making Punjab a drug-free state.