Ludhiana, Punjab (September 1, 2014): Opposing the SYL canal project, Social activist Medha Patkar, on August 31st, said the interlinking of rivers was no solution to the water crisis being faced by several states.
She said she was against the Sutlej Yamuna Link (SYL) Canal, a disputed project involving Punjab and Haryana.
The long pending issue of interlinking of rivers of various states, also pending in Supreme Court of India (SCI), is not only opposed by people of Punjab in the light of Satluj-Yamuna Link project, but many other states are being victimized on the name of inter-linking.
Being it on the agenda on the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) government, the social activists and states like Punjab were fearing forcible interlinking.
The BJP, many a time, has claimed of solving water crisis in many states by interlinking the rivers.
Medha Patkar was at Ludhiana on August 31st to meet the local activists of various NGOs under a programme, “National Alliance of People’s Movements”.
She said the linking of rivers was “no mean project as it would severely affect human lives, the ecology and environment”. “It will prove very costly”, she added.
“The BJP, Modi government and other politicians have been misleading the public on the linkage of rivers,” she said.