If we can guard a 532-km border, we can safeguard our waters too: punjab cm - the statesman

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Wednesday asserted that the state government will raise the issue of the reconstitution of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) at the

upcoming NITI Aayog meeting. Addressing a victory rally here, he said he would bring this matter to the attention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the meeting on Saturday. He

emphasized that as water levels are changing frequently, all water-sharing agreements must be reviewed every 25 years. Advertisement Mann noted that Punjab, a landlocked border state, has

already overexploited its only natural resources—water and fertile soil—to feed the nation. Advertisement The Chief Minister criticized the BBMB, accusing it of playing a complicit role in

depriving Punjab of its legitimate share of water. He alleged that Haryana exhausted its allocated share by March this year, yet BBMB acted as a puppet of the Central and Haryana governments

to divert Punjab’s water. Mann claimed that in an unprecedented move, the BBMB Chairman personally came to Nangal to divert water from the state—a move thwarted by the people of Punjab.

Mann pointed out that BBMB had previously taken Rs 32 crore from Punjab for foundational projects and never returned the funds. He said that BBMB currently owes Punjab nearly Rs 150 crore

(Rs 142 crore to be precise), and the state will soon initiate steps to recover the amount. He also stated that 3,000 posts reserved for Punjab’s quota within the BBMB have deliberately not

been filled, weakening the state’s representation and claims. Efforts are now underway to fill these vacancies swiftly to safeguard Punjab’s interests, he added. Mann lamented the neglect of

BBMB, stating that even aesthetically planned townships like Nangal have suffered due to its mismanagement. He said the BBMB has clearly acted under Central influence to deprive Punjab of

its water rights, but the state’s resilient farmers stood strong and defeated such attempts. The Chief Minister asserted that Punjabis have consistently demonstrated their commitment to

national security by protecting the 532-kilometer-long border with Pakistan and are equally capable of defending their water rights. He recalled Punjab’s historic sacrifices on the border

and hailed the people for thwarting recent attempts to divert their water. For 20 days, Mann said, the vigilant and hardworking people of Punjab prevented the Centre and Haryana from taking

even a drop of water. He alleged that for decades, Punjab’s water has been diverted to other states through BBMB, with Congress, Akali Dal, and BJP leaders complicit in betraying the state’s

interests. The Chief Minister further accused a former Punjab CM of accepting a plot in Gurgaon in return for supporting the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL) project and issuing its survey order.

He also took aim at another former CM, who, despite posturing as the “savior of Punjab waters,” had presented a silver spade to the then Prime Minister for the SYL canal’s groundbreaking

ceremony at Kapoori. Mann remarked that BBMB was originally established to manage the waters of the Sutlej and Beas rivers, but over the years, Punjab’s share has been unjustly diverted to

other states. He accused the BJP-led Centre of using the BBMB for political gains and labeled the board a “white elephant”—inefficient and unacceptable in its current form. He highlighted

the irony that employees from other states, paid from Punjab’s exchequer, are working against the interests of Punjab. Even more distressing, he said, is the fact that BBMB uses Punjab’s

funds to fight legal cases against the state. The Chief Minister advocated for a Yamuna-Sutlej Link (YSL) instead of the existing SYL canal, arguing that the Sutlej River has already dried

up and Punjab cannot spare even a single drop. Instead, water from the Ganga and Yamuna should be channeled into Punjab via the Sutlej to combat the state’s worsening water crisis. Mann said

that despite being smaller in size, Haryana receives more water than Punjab and continues to demand more. “How can we give water to Haryana when our own fields are parched,” he asked,

noting that 60 percent of Punjab’s farmland depends on canal irrigation, making every drop of water vital. He concluded by stating that Punjab no longer has surplus water to share with any

other state. However, in a humanitarian gesture on April 6, the state gave 4,000 cusecs of water from its share to Haryana for drinking purposes, citing the teachings of the Gurus, who

advocated offering water to the thirsty as an act of virtue. Advertisement