AAP ends 20-day dharna against BBMB at Nangal dam, vows to continue fight

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) lifted its 20-day dharna against BBMB at the Nangal dam today, protesting the allocation of extra water to Haryana from Punjab’s share and portraying CM Bhagwant Mann as ‘Pania Da Rakha’ (saviour of waters). The Nangal dam area was heavily barricaded by the Punjab Police as AAP workers organised a rally there. The entire Nangal town and the roads leading to it were filled with posters displaying CM Bhagwant Mann as ‘Pania Da Rakha’, with a photograph of the Bhakra dam attached below it.

The heavy presence of the Punjab Police and the barricading of all roads leading to the Nangal dam caused inconvenience to commuters and school children trying to reach their schools early in the morning in the small town of Nangal. Although AAP’s dharna ended, the party leaders vowed to continue their fight with BBMB over the water-sharing agreement.

The agreements governing water distribution among BBMB’s partner states are the Bhakra Nangal Agreement (1966) and Ravi-Beas Agreement (1982). According to the Bhakra Nangal Agreement, the share of states in Sutlej water is as follows: Punjab 57.88%, Haryana 32.31%, and Rajasthan 9.81%. Water from BBMB projects is released through the Bhakra Main Line canal, also known as Nangal Hydel Canal that starts from the Nangal dam.

As per the Ravi-Beas Agreement, the share of partner states in Ravi and Beas waters is as follows: Rajasthan 49%, Punjab 30%, Haryana 21%.

Water is released to Haryana from two points on the Punjab-Haryana border along the Bhakra Main Line canal, one of which is Sonda Head in the Sarhind area of Punjab. The Nirwana branch is the Haryana canal that receives water from Bhakra Main Line. Haryana also releases approximately 500 cusecs of water for drinking purposes to Delhi from its Nirwana branch, originating from the Nangal Dam.

In addition to supplying water to Haryana, the Bhakra Main Line canal also carries water to the Malwa regions of Punjab and the Ganganagar district of Rajasthan. The waters of the Ravi and Beas rivers converge at the Harike headworks, from where the Rajasthan Feeder canal channels it to Rajasthan. Ravi river water is collected at the Madhopur dam and distributed to the Amritsar and Gurdaspur districts of Punjab via the Upper Bari Doab Canal (UBDC) system. A canal originating from the Madhopur dam in Pathankot connects the Ravi river to the Beas river, which ultimately converges at the Harike dam.

Punjab AAP leaders stated that the water-sharing agreements with BBMB’s partner states should be renegotiated in light of the current scenario, where Punjab’s groundwater levels are depleting due to excessive tubewell usage, with many areas categorised in the red zone for severe groundwater depletion.

Punjab