Chandigarh, February 18

With the INLD announcing that its activists will start digging the SYL canal from February 23, Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Saturday warned the Haryana-based party not to provoke Punjabis.

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"The SYL issue is dead once and for all as the Punjab Assembly as well as the SAD-BJP government in the state have passed resolutions for restoration of the land acquired for the project," state minister and SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said in a statement.

He added that the land acquired for the project had been restored to its original owners and it was now in the possession of the farmers of Punjab.

The statement said the SAD will never allow the completion of the project as "it would deprive Punjab's farmers of their own waters".

Cheema said the Sutlej-Yamuna Link canal issue was "more of life and death for not only the farmers of Punjab but for all Punjabis" as the state was already witnessing a depletion of the water table in the recent years.

He added that it was most unfortunate that the political parties of neighbouring Haryana were resorting to provocative actions by issuing statements regarding digging of the canal.

"For Haryana, it may be a case of water. But for Punjab, it is now a case of life and death. Such statements will lead to tension in both the states and also contribute towards inciting violence between the neighbours which is not in anybody's favour," the Akali leader said.

He said Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal have announced many a times that the SAD is committed to safeguard the waters of Punjab and it would go to any length, including sacrificing their own lives, for the safety and security of Punjabis in general and farmers in particular.

Cheema urged the Indian National Lok Dal and the other parties from Haryana to desist from indulging in such activities which may prove to be detrimental to the interests of the people of both the states.

Senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala has announced that his party workers will gather at Ambala and then march towards the Punjab border on February 23 to dig the SYL canal.

"SYL is the lifeline of Haryana...even the Supreme Court has given its verdict in Haryana's favour," he said yesterday.

He claimed that neither the ruling BJP nor the Congress in Haryana were serious about the construction of the canal.

Meanwhile, some organisations in Punjab have announced to assemble at Kapoori in Patiala to thwart the construction of the SYL canal.

The Dal Khalsa today took a dig at the INLD, describing Chautala's announcement as a "political mischief and stunt".

Dal Khalsa leaders HS Dhami and Kanwar Pal Singh said the people of Punjab would not allow any mischief and misadventure by anyone at any cost.

Taking potshots at Chautala, they said his family had friendly ties with the ruling Badal family in Punjab and both the families had "wreaked havoc" over the years.

"Even now, the Chautala family knows that the current rulers of Punjab, who are virtually on their way out, will not welcome them with batons and bullets which are reserved for farmers, teachers, unionists, students, pharmacists and devout Sikh protesters," the Dal Khalsa leaders said.

"INLD, in its various avatars, has been hand in glove with the Badals to side-track the genuine issues and in the attempt to overawe Sikhs," they alleged.

They said the people of Haryana should stop day-dreaming about the construction of the SYL canal. — PTI