As the 20-day-long protest by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at the Nangal Dam nears its end, the party is preparing to conclude the agitation with a major political rally on Wednesday. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal are expected to address the gathering, marking the culmination of the party's opposition to the Bhakra Beas Management Board’s (BBMB) alleged decision to release extra water from Punjab’s share to Haryana.
The protest, which began on May 1, was sparked by Chief Minister Mann’s intervention at the dam, where he halted BBMB officials from executing the release of additional water to Haryana. AAP leaders have called the move an attempt to protect Punjab’s rightful share and accused the Centre and BBMB of repeatedly undermining the state's water interests.
Speaking ahead of the rally, Education Minister and local MLA Harjot Singh Bains on Tuesday lauded the public and volunteers for their unwavering support. “We fought for Punjab’s water under the leadership of Chief Minister Mann and emerged victorious,†he declared. “Despite repeated attempts by the Centre to push Punjab into a corner, we stood firm and foiled their plans.â€
Sources said that BBMB is set to release the additional water at midnight on Tuesday as per the decision of its technical committee. With May 20 marking the end of the Bhakra dam’s depletion period, the release would now coincide with the start of the filling season.
The rally is being projected by AAP not only as a celebration of resistance but also as a message to the Centre and opposition parties about Punjab’s assertiveness under AAP rule. The presence of Arvind Kejriwal — expected to attend his first public rally in Punjab since being released on interim bail — will further galvanize the party’s cadre.
By staging this dharna and rally, AAP is aiming to position itself as the sole defender of Punjab’s water rights ahead of the Lok Sabha elections, especially as water politics continues to stir regional tensions. The rally is expected to draw large crowds from nearby villages, where local sentiment remains strongly in favour of protecting Punjab’s river waters.
SAD Hits Out at Mann, Demands Filling of Punjab’s BBMB Quota Posts
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday accused Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann of resorting to “cheap publicity stunts†on Punjab’s water issue while neglecting the critical task of protecting the State’s interests within the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB).
SAD senior leader Parambans Singh Romana said that instead of generating Artificial Intelligence-based social media content projecting himself as “Paani da Rakhwalaâ€, the Chief Minister should focus on filling up Punjab’s sanctioned posts in the BBMB, which remain overwhelmingly vacant.
Romana revealed that 55 percent of Punjab’s quota in the BBMB’s Irrigation wing and a staggering 73 percent in the Power wing were lying vacant. “How can Punjab safeguard its water rights when the State isn’t even filling up its share of posts in the BBMB?†he questioned.
Romana cited data to back his claims — only 68 of the 152 Class I and II posts in the Irrigation wing, including XENs and SEs, had been filled. Similarly, 1,669 of the 2,851 total sanctioned posts for Punjab in the Irrigation wing, and 1,345 of the 1,823 posts in the Power wing, were vacant.
He urged immediate action, noting that Haryana and Rajasthan had already filled all their BBMB quota posts.
