Water crisis prevented Punjab from sharing water with any state: Jakhar

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said the Congress government in the state has never backed out from a humanitarian responsibility but it was difficult for it to share water resources with other states.

Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar on Tuesday said the Congress government in the state has never backed out from a humtarian responsibility but it was difficult for it to share water resources with other states.

Referring to Haryana BJP unit president OP Dhankar's statement on the Supreme Court's directions in the SYL case, Jakhar said the Congress government led by Captain Amarinder Singh had never shirked its humtarian responsibility but "the acute water crisis faced by the state prevented it from sharing its water resources with any other state".

"It was Punjab and its farmers who had the first right to the waters of the rivers flowing through the state. Any violation of the riparian principle would be unjust to the people of Punjab," he said, according to a party release.

He said the Chief Minister had been repeatedly asking for a fresh assessment of the state's water availability in Beas and Ravi rivers. "Such a reassessment would make the ground situation clear and would endorse Punjab's stand on the SYL issue," he said.

He said Punjab government had no objections to a negotiated settlement on the issue and any discussion would have to take into account the situation on the ground.

( With inputs from ANI )