Ali Khad water scheme: BJP stages walkout from HP Assembly for second consecutive day

Opposing construction of the Ali Khad drinking water scheme on the border of Bilaspur and Solan districts, the BJP MLAs walked out of the Vidhan Sabha for the second consecutive day on Friday.

The BJP claims if water is lifted for this scheme from Ali Khad 'stream', several panchayat areas in Naina Devi and Bilas Sadar would not get enough water.

The BJP MLAs are also demanding cancellation of the FIR registered against those protesting over the construction of this drinking water scheme.

Unsatisfied with Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu's reply on the motion of thanks on the governor's address, the BJP MLAs staged a walkout in the assembly.

The BJP's move comes as a case of rioting and obstructing public servants from performing their duty has been registered against the protestors on the Solan-Bilaspur border post their dissent earlier on Tuesday.

BJP MLA from Shri Naina Devi assembly seat, Randhir Sharma, raised this issue under the call attention motion.

He said that drinking water and irrigation scheme have already been built on Ali Khad stream in excess of capacity due to which there is shortage of water in this ravine in summer and the people of Bilaspur district have to face a lot of trouble.

Sharma said that through this scheme, 10 lakh liters of water is to be lifted every day, which will reduce the flow of water in the ravine.

He added that water should be lifted from the Kol dam to avoid this problem and demanded that construction of this scheme should be stopped in public interest.

Parliamentary Affairs Minister Harsh Vardhan Chauhan said that Rs 108 lakh has been spent on the Ali Khad project and added this scheme will not have any impact on the flow of Ali Khad.

Admitting that water flow may reduce during the summer season, he said this happens in the whole state during summers and Ali Khad is no exception.

Chauhan said the FIR registered in the Ali Khad dispute case will not be cancelled as per the law.

Randhir Sharma, the MLA from Shri Naina Devi, who also sustained injury along with several others during the protest on Tuesday (February 13), had alleged that the police stopped the protestors, resorted to lathi-charge, pelted stones on them and even registered FIR against them.

Asserting that construction of this scheme would lead to closure of 24 drinking water and seven irrigation schemes and 15 gharats (traditional water mills), Sharma said that panchayats of Naina Devi and Bilaspur Sadar assembly constituencies of Bilaspur would be deprived of drinking water and irrigation facilities.

The BJP MLA had earlier told PTI that several people, including him, Zila Parishad members and women, sustained injuries in police action.

The police had on Tuesday registered cases against the protestors after eight persons, including seven policemen and one Home Guard jawan, were injured.

The police had said that around 400 protestors gathered near Navgaon village on the border of Solan and Bilaspur districts and forcefully stopped the ongoing work of the scheme.

Opposing the construction of the Ali Khad drinking water supply scheme at Triveni Ghat on the border of Bilaspur and Solan districts, the residents of Bilaspur have been protesting for the past 23 days.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)