The escalating water-sharing dispute between the neigh- bouring states of Punjab and Haryana has reached a criti- cal juncture, with Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government boycotting a pivotal Bhakra Beas Manage- ment Board (BBMB) meeting leaving Haryana to explore other alternatives. Punjab government’s move to reduce Haryana’s water supply to only 4000 cusecs against the required 9500 cusecs has left Haryana’s vil- lages parched and prompted the state to plan aggressive legal and political measures. Haryana, grappling with severe drinking water short- ages in districts like Hisar, Sirsa, Fatehabad, and Ma- hendragarh, had pinned hopes on the BBMB meeting to resolve the conflict. Pun- jab’s no-show, however, has infuriated Haryana’s leadership, with Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini labelling the move “irresponsible and unconstitutional.” The chief minister Nayab Saini will head a special Cabinet meeting on Monday to explore options, including approaching the Supreme Court or seeking central government intervention. Officials in Haryana are now reviewing their legal and constitutional options. It is learnt that the state will approach the Supreme Court on Monday to claim its legitimate share in the Bhakra waters. The ongoing dispute has now become a serious concern for the people, especially in rural areas where tube wells are drying up and water tanker rates have tripled. The leaders of all political parties in Haryana have unitedly slammed the Punjab government’s decision and extended support to the chief minister Nayab Saini to strongly claim Haryana’s share in Bhakra water. Senior Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Randeep Surjewala has accused the Centre, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini of mishandling the escalating water-sharing dispute, which has left Haryana grappling with a severe water crisis. The Bhakra Beas Management Board completely comes under the Power Ministry of the Centre, but it is doing nothing to resolve this issue, he said questioning Haryana government’s decision to go to the Supreme Court. “The court takes many months or even years to give a decision. Do you want to make Haryana’s water problem even worse?”, he added. Interestingly, Haryana Aam Aadmi Party President Sushil Gupta has accused BJP and Congress for the water dispute between Haryana and Punjab saying that the dispute has been related to water between the two states for the past 50 years; however, neither the BJP nor Congress has solved the issue. On Saturday, Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini had called an allparty meeting in over the water sharing dispute with the politicians from all the parties related to Haryana, including former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Sushil Gupta, Dushyant Chautala, Ministers Shyam Singh Rana and Shruti Choudhary attended the meeting which passed a resolution urging the Punjab government to implement the decision taken by the Bhakra Beas Management Board to release Haryana’s share of water.
