Chandigarh: In yet another attempt to move towards resolving the decades-long issue of the Satluj Yamuna Link (SYL), the chief ministers of Punjab and Haryana, Bhagwant Mann and Nayab Singh Saini, on Tuesday held another round of meetings here.The meeting remained inconclusive, but both sides agreed to continue dialogue, with senior officials scheduled to meet regularly.Accompanied by irrigation and water resources minister Barinder Goyal of Punjab and Shruti Choudhary of Haryana, as well as functionaries of both govts, the two chief ministers resumed their dialogue.The meeting, held in a cordial atmosphere, focused on finding an amicable solution, with both sides agreeing to continue dialogue through regular official-level talks to resolve the issue.The CMs discussed the SYL canal, a decades-old issue regarding the sharing of river waters, following the Supreme Court directions.This meeting marked a significant attempt to break the deadlock over the 214-km canal, which had caused tension between the two states for decades. Out of this stretch, the Haryana part is 92km.“Today’s meeting took place in a harmonious and positive environment. The way the meeting was held, we shall have good positive results. It was held on the directions of the apex court. Punjab is the land of the Gurus. Guru Nanak Dev called ‘pavan’ as guru, father to water and mother to earth. And this ‘baani’ is our guiding force. His teachings are still precious gems for us,” said Saini.Mann too endorsed that the meeting was held in a good environment, while reiterating that, “Haryana is our brother and that we are guided by the teachings of our Gurus”.“Water became an important issue not just here, but this is a cause of concern across the world. We are moving forward to have meaningful solutions as well as conservation of water. Officers of both states will meet again on the need-based issues,” said Mann.Meanwhile, referring to the construction of the canal in Punjab, Mann was quick to return to his stand: “What is the use of making a canal in the absence of adequate water to be released? It’s better to have a water distribution compromise before the canal construction,” he said.On this occasion, chief principal secretary to the Haryana CM Rajesh Khullar, Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha, additional chief secretary of Haryana irrigation and water resources department Anurag Agarwal, and other senior officers of both states were present. In addition, the advocate generals of both states were also present during the meeting.
