Punjab Water Resources and Water & Soil Conservation Minister Sh. Barinder Goyal, on Friday, inaugurated various development projects costing over Rs.70 crore to ensure water supply for drinking and irrigation up to tail-ends in the Shilutrana constituency. Sh. Goyal also laid the foundation stones at Shutrana, Sadharanpur and Kalwanu for concrete lining of Rasouli Minor, Karmgarh Link-2 Canal System, Choa Link-2 Canal System, Minor No. 3 and 5, Bishangrah and Atalan Minors.
While congratulating local folks on receiving 1.5 times more canal water than before, the Cabinet Minister announced that all works would be completed within two months, benefiting over 75,000 acres during the paddy season. He said that this would help conserve electricity and groundwater by reducing tubewell usage.
Water Resources Minister said that Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann led government has successfully preserved depleting groundwater by ensuring water supply to tail-end areas. "Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann's promise of providing canal water to every field in Punjab is being fulfilled", said the Cabinet Minister, criticizing previous dispensations for neglecting the Ghaggar issue.
He said that Mann government is making serious efforts in this direction to solve the problem. The Water Resources Minister urged the public to fulfill their duty towards water conservation as the Punjab government is implementing numerous schemes in light of predictions that groundwater will be further depleted by 2037.
He also appealed to all farmers to come forward to save groundwater by taking advantage of government schemes and subsidies for underground pipelines. He also urged people to vacate occupied government land. Barinder Goyal stated that the union government is not providing any cooperation to Punjab, causing delays in initiating canal water projects, while the Punjab government has launched drinking water supply projects in 85 cities of the state.
While responding to a query about the union government's lack of response to farmer leader Jagjit Singh Dallewal's hunger strike, the Cabinet Minister condemned the Center for betraying farmers and the state of Punjab. The union government is determined to destroy farming and Punjab, he categorically added. Praising local MLA Kulwant Singh Bazigar, Sh. Barinder Kumar Goyal noted his effective representation of constituency issues in the assembly.
MLA Kulwant Singh Bazigar thanked Chief Minister S. Bhagwant Singh Mann, saying that the Punjab government has removed the stigma of backwardness from the Shutrana constituency. He lamented that previous governments had ignored the constituency's decades-old demands, but now all work is being done on a priority.
Prominent amongst others who were present during the function included ADC (G) Isha Singal, SDM Ashok Kumar, Malkeet Singh Parta, Mahinga Singh Brar, Suresh Sharma, Block President Buta Singh Virk, Ranjit Singh President Truck Union, Madan Lal Goyal, Canal Department (BML) Superintending Engineer Ankit Dheer, Executive Engineer Gundeep Singh Dhaliwal, SDO Swaran Singh, Tehsildar Harsimaranjit Singh along with other prominent figures of the the area.