Army, paramilitary take control of water canal in Haryana

New Delhi

Around 600 CRPF personnel and two columns of Army took over control of the canal at around 4 AM and started repair work to ensure uninterrupted water supply to Delhi, official sources said.

All protesters who were squatting at the site were evicted.

The action came after the Jat protests in Haryana demanding reservation disrupted water supply to Delhi, leading to water crisis in the national capital.

The Arvind Kejriwal government had announced water rationing and closure of schools for the day due to the water crisis.

Last night, the government had asked security forces to clear all roads, railway tracks, canals and dams in Haryana where protesting Jats were squatting, disrupting normal life.

The security forces were asked to clear all such places as early as possible to restore normalcy.

The decision was taken after a series of meetings Home Minister Rajnath Singh had with senior Union Ministers and top officials.

Yielding to pressure from agitating Jats, the BJP last night announced setting up of a five-member committee under a senior Central minister to examine the quota demand for the community in government jobs.

The Union Home Minister had said that a committee headed by Union Minister Venkaiah Naidu has been formed to look into the demand for reservation in central government jobs for Jats.