The Hindu : Other States / Haryana News : Haryana Congress leaders acting against State: Minister

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Aug 09, 2004

Other States

Other States - Haryana

Haryana Congress leaders acting against State: Minister

By Our Special Correspondent

CHANDIGARH, AUG 8. The Haryana Finance Minister, Sampat Singh, today launched a scathing attack on Congress leaders, especially Bhupinder Singh Hooda, MP, and Ajay Singh Yadav, the acting leader of the Congress Legislature Party in the Assembly, for defending the Punjab Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, for his "acts aimed at harming the interests of Haryana'' and not behaving like true "Haryanvis".

In a statement issued here today, Mr. Sampat Singh said that the Congress leaders were forgetting that they were first "Haryanvi" and later Congressmen. They were trying to defend a Chief Minister who had "committed crime against humanity by creating floods in Haryana as a result of which some precious lives had been lost and property as well as standing crops had been damaged in some parts of the State''. These leaders were also defending Mr.Amarinder Singh, who had time and again created hindrances in the construction of

Sutlej Yamuna link (SYL) canal, the lifeline of Haryana.

Mr. Singh refuted the claim of the Punjab Irrigation Minister, Lal Singh, that Narwana branch had breached because of gushing waters of Ghaggar river and not because of "deliberate action'' by the Punjab authorities. He said that Mr. Lal Singh should first check official records before making any statement on the issue. He said that earlier in the day when some parts of Haryana were flooded by breaches in Narwana Branch and SYL canal, the Haryana Irrigation Department had placed an indent to Punjab Government to release 3,000 cusecs of water in inter-State Narwana Branch. Punjab, while reacting to this indent, sent a wire to Haryana Irrigation authorities

in Ambala that it would make a reduced supply of only 2,000 cusecs of water. Apparently, he said, Punjab reduced the indent with the intention of making the Narwana Branch empty so as to use it as drain. After reducing the indent by 1,000 cusecs, the Punjab Government brought this indent to "zero" informally and it was clear from the fact that there was no water left in it before the floods came in. Thereafter, the canal was breached at three places to divert flood waters of Punjab to Haryana.

He further asserted that the Narwana Branch, which had the capacity to carry 4,000 cusecs of water, was made to carry 6,000 cusecs of water and the Sutlej Yamuna Link Canal which had the capacity to carry 6,500 cusecs of water was carrying 10,000 cusecs of water as these were being used as drains by the Punjab authorities. The Narwana Branch was being used to supply water to the districts of Kurukshetra, Jind, Kaithla, Bhiwani, Jhajjar, Rohtak and the National Capital of Delhi.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Other States

News Update

Stories in this Section

Haryana Congress leaders acting against State: Minister