Omar Abdullah Refuses To Divert Water, Punjab Governor's "Culture" Reply
New Delhi:
Weeks after a war with Haryana, Punjab is now engaged in a similar conflict with Jammu and Kashmir, as the Union Territory's Chief Minister opposed the idea of diverting surplus water from three Western rivers of the Indus system to Punjab.
Mr Abdullah, on Friday, was asked about the proposed construction of a 113 km canal to transfer surplus water from Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab, Haryana, and Rajasthan to prevent it from flowing to Pakistan. Opposing to divert water to Punjab, the Chief Minister said, "Right now, Jammu is facing water scarcity. There is no water in the taps. Why should I send water to Punjab? Punjab already has three rivers as per the Indus Waters Treaty."
He also invoked the 45-year-old dispute between the Punjab and J&K governments over the construction of the Shahpur Kandi barrage in Pathankot. "We have got some water after putting up a fight through the Shahpur Kandi barrage project, but now I will not allow diverting the water of Jammu and Kashmir to Punjab," he said.
Reacting to this, Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria said that indulging in such a dispute is "not in our culture".
"I don't think the water supply can be stopped just because someone is saying it. If this dispute had been between two countries, it would be acceptable. I can understand. But it is not possible in the same country. Some people get more share of water than others in the same country, I don't think this is in our culture," he said.
Punjab Minister Ravneet Bittu also hit out at Mr Abdullah, questioning how he could stop the water supply as it is the Centre's decision.
Punjab-Haryana water dispute
The row over water sharing started after AAP-ruled Punjab refused to release more water to BJP-ruled Haryana, claiming the latter has "already used 103 per cent of its allocated share of water by March". The dispute reignited once again, with tensions escalating over the latest reduction in water supply from the Bhakra Nangal Dam.
The Haryana government has demanded 8,500 cusecs of water; however, Punjab has declined the request, asserting that it doesn't have the water to spare. The Punjab government, led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has already slashed Haryana's daily water quota from 9,500 cusecs to just 4,000 cusecs.
Defending this controversial move, Mr Mann stressed that Punjab is facing a water crisis of its own. He pointed out that Punjab's annual water accounting begins on May 21 each year and insisted that Haryana has already used up its allocation for the current cycle. According to him, the Ranjit Sagar Dam is 39 feet below last year's level, while the Pong Dam is down by 24 feet.
"We don't have a single extra drop to spare," he said, underlining the severity of the water shortage in Punjab.
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