Plug all illegal water outlets in Punjab's canals, Water Resources minister tells officials

Jimpa instructed after inspecting various canals in Jalalabad and Fazilka districts on Friday night and finding their water being illegally siphoned out at multiple points. No illegal water outlets would be tolerated at any cost in canals, he said, adding strict action will be taken as per the law against all those indulging in water theft by installing illegal pipes or by any other means. MLAs Jagdeep Kamboj Goldy, Narinder Pal Singh Sawna, Amandeep Singh Goldy Musafir, and Fazilka Deputy Commissioner Himanshu Aggarwal during the surprise visit and district police chief Bhupinder Singh Sidhu, too were present; an official release said on Saturday.

The minister went inside the canals to inspect illegal water outlets and said the governing system in the state had changed. "Now there is a government of the common people of Punjab, so immediate action should be taken against those influential people who are stealing water, and all such illegal outlets should be plugged at the earliest so that farmers of the tail-end could get adequate share of canal water," he added. Jimpa also discussed farmers' problems related to the canal water at village Khund Wala Sainia, near village Bahmaniwala, and Ladhuka, and stopped at various other locations to inspect the canals.

The minister also assured farmers that the farmers would get a fair share of water by closing all illegal outlets and timely cleaning the canals.