Now, Cong plans stir for water on Vasundhara turf

BHARATPUR: A DEAL INKED BETWEEN RAJASTHAN AND HARYANA STATES THAT BHARATPUR SHOULD GET 500 CUSEC WATER EVERY DAY THROUGH GURGAON CANAL

Congress leader Vishvendra Singh will start an agitation against the state government on December 25 to demand water for Bharatpur district. The agitation will be launched with a rally at Lohagarh stadium, said Singh who had earlier campaigned for job reservation for Jats.

“After success in the fight for reservation for other backward classes, now looking at the apathetic attitude of the ruling BJP towards the needs of the district, the next agitation will be launched for water,” the state Congress senior vice president told Hindustan Times on Friday.

About 70-80% of groundwater in the district is saline, and farmers have been demanding water from the Yamuna river in Haryana through Gurgaon canal since 1984, the former MLA said.

A water-sharing pact signed among five states — Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and Himachal Pradesh – on May 12, 1994 states that 1,280 cusec of Yamuna water should be released for Bharatpur.

An agreement inked between Rajasthan and Haryana states that the district should get 500 cusec water every day through Gurgaon canal.

“The Ashok Gehlot government in 2013 inaugurated the ₹755-crore Chambal drinking water project at Mallah to provide water to villages of the district. The present government has failed to ensure that the Chambal water reaches the people,” Singh said.

The Chambal project was slated to be completed in two phases. Water was to be supplied to Deeg, Kumher and Bharatpur in the first phase, and to Nadbai, Rupwas, Weir and Bhusawar in the second.

Chief minister Vasundhara Raje, during her visit to Bharatpur four years ago, assured to provide water to farmers. The government sanctioned ₹900 crore for Alwar in the last budget for execution of schemes, but no allocation was made for Bharatpur, Singh alleged.

The agitation will be launched to demand water for Bharatpur from the Chambal project, Goverdhan canal and Yamuna water through Gurgaon canal, the Congress leader said.

“Distribution of Yamuna water can be settled as the BJP is in power in Rajasthan and Haryana,” Singh said.

The Mukhya Mantri Jal Swavlamban Abhiyan, launched in 2016, aims to tackle water scarcity by reviving old water structures with public participation and providing water management techniques in rural areas.