JAIPUR: Farm associations of north-western districts of Rajasthan have urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to send a single drop of water to neighbouring Pakistan. Reminding the PM of his reported commitment to not allow even a drop of water to Pakistan, in an email, the associations’ leaders have sought his immediate intervention to stop the supply of surplus water to Pakistan.“Between July 1 and Sept 20, lakhs of cusecs of water were released to Pakistan, instead of diverting it to Rajasthan, by the Punjab govt. This was done even when the canals emanating from Punjab faced an acute shortage,” said Subhash Chander Sehgal, the spokesperson of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti (KSS) – an amalgamation of farm associations comprising farmers from Hanumangarh and Sriganganagar.Members of the associations claimed such improper water management is bound to affect the farming of vegetables and other crops in the districts of Sriganganagar and Hanumangarh in Rajasthan and in other areas, covering more than 45 lakh acres of farmland.In the letter dated Sept 22, the KSS stated that dams in Punjab were constructed to store 17 million acre-feet of water to supply it to the three states of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan for irrigation and drinking purposes.
