Chandigarh, Feb.1- Sukhpal Singh Khaira MLA and President of Punjabi Ekta Party(PEP) today lambasted Punjab Congress President Sunil Jakhar and score of other influential people for infringing upon the rights of the people of 15 border villages who are forced to live without water for drinking and irrigation needs.
In a statement Khaira said that he was shell shocked to see the plight of thousands of villagers who assembled in village Bakianwala to express their anguish against ruthless attitude of Jakhar. Khaira who went there to take stock of the situation said that Jakhar had made lives of people of border areas miserable and deplorable. These people were deprived of drinking and irrigation water for years because powerful politicians have forced unequal distribution of canal water to their large land holdings.
He said that the residents were fed up with the indifferent attitude of Jakhar and they have put their whole village land holdings on sale. He said that in public Jakhar project himself a ‘Messiah’ of farmers but in reality he is anti-farmer and anti-poor. He said that officials of irrigation department were not hearing to cries of helpless farmers due to political pressure on them. He said that while all distributaries in the area were earthen, a special distributory made of RCC is being constructed from canal to agriculture fields of Jakhar.
Khaira said besides Bakianwala, the residents of Koyal Khera, Dewan Khera and many adjoining villages along Pakistan border has same tale of woes. These villages were not getting any water mainly because influential people have increased the size of ‘Moghas'(outlet) to fetch more water and also irrigating fields during the day time. The extra water taken by the influential group is drained into Abul Khurana drain. The border villagers on the other hand have to buy drinking water brought to villages in tankers from the Gang canal.
He said that even during the SAD-BJP regime Badal family was diverted water to their own fields. He said that Jakhar and Badals were two sides of same coin who are equally merciless.
Khaira said that local residents were so frustrated from the political system that they boycotted the previous assembly elections and now demanding to shift their villages either to Rajasthan or either Pakistan. They rue the Capt Amarinder Singh government for snatching their right to live. Khaira said that people had shown him water bills sent to them even as water works is dry for years. He said that he had personally seen the devastated plight of local distributories in the said villages and saw blatant unequal distribution of irrigation water viz a viz the influential people like Jakhar.
The villagers, said Khaira informed him that they were threatened by Jakhar’s relatives that they will have to face false police cases if they opposed water supply to Jakhar’s agriculture land. The scarcity of drinking and irrigation water has pushed people to such a brink and misery that they are not getting suitable matches for their marriageable children.
Khaira has appealed to villagers to form a Joint Action Committee and he will lead the dharna against highhandedness of Jakhar. He said that he would fight for their rights from fore-front. He also appealed to Chief Minister to warn and restrain PPCC President from his high handedness and let live border farmers with dignity.