SYL canal issue: Police use water cannon against Congress workers

Chandigarh: Police on Monday used a water cannon to disperse Congress workers marching towards the Punjab Raj Bhavan here over the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) canal issue. The Punjab Congress said it wanted to meet Governor Banwarilal Purohit and give him a representation over the SYL issue.

Several Congress leaders including the party’s state unit chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, former minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, former Punjab assembly speaker Rana KP Singh and other leaders were present. Police had raised barricades to prevent protesters from moving towards the residence of the governor.

When the Congress workers tried to force their way through barricades, they used a water cannon to stop them. Later, police detained Congress leaders and workers. Addressing Congress leaders and workers outside the party headquarters here, Bajwa said they will not allow a single drop of water from Punjab to flow to any other state and that they will also not allow the canal to be built. He said Punjab has no surplus water to share with any other state. The Congress leaders also targeted the Bhagwant Mann government, alleging that the Punjab government had failed to safeguard the interests of the state over the SYL issue.