J&K, PunJAB inK PACt For wAter shAring

The state Chief Secretaries of Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir recently inked the much-delayed Shahpur Kandi dam project agreement, which was finally ratified by the new J&K Governor, Satya Pal Malik. This project will benefit thousands of farmers in Kathua and Samba districts of Jammu region. The Punjab government will also provide employment to those families who were displaced by this project.

According to the official agreement between the two states, on completion of the project, J&K will be provided a full quantity of 1,150 cusecs of water from the Ravi river. J&K will also get 20% electricity from Shahpur Kandi and Thein dam projects of about 41-MW capacity, according to the agreement. The J&K government will also get Rs 115 crore as land compensation from the Punjab government. Employment will also be provided to the remaining 861 displaced families of Kathua and Samba districts, while the land was acquired for the project.

According to reports, this will be a game-changer for thousands of farmers in Kathua and Samba districts as they will be able to get water throughout the year and there would be a green revolution in the area.

According to state government officials, when the project is completed, it will provide water to thousands of hectares of agricultural land in the Jammu region which was always drought prone. State executive engineer of the project Kuldeep Gupta said in Jammu that work would be started in the next few weeks and they will try to complete the project before the deadline. The West Bengal unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has begun preparations for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. The party is eyeing to get at least 22 seats from the state, given the traction it, it believes, has been able to get on the ground since the last two years.

Sources in the Bengal BJP have said that booth committee meetings with regard to the 2019 general elections have begun and that the candidate selection process for every Lok Sabha seat in the state is also on.

A senior party functionary from the state told this correspondent, “Booth level meetings have already begun with all our ground level workers to devise the strategy that we will be taking when we start our campaigning for the 2019 general elections. At