 "Army along with RAF secure Haryana's Munak Canal that supplies water to Delhi, site cleared up (Photo: ANI)")
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a tweet thanked the Army and Centre for taking control of the Munak Canal, as this ensures the return of normal supply of water to Delhi from Haryana. Water supply to Delhi had been disrupted due to the Jat stir and is likely to be restored today, as all Jat protestors have been evicted from the site.
Thank u army, thank u centre for securing munak canal back. Great relief for delhi
— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) February 22, 2016
Two columns of the Army, around 600 CRPF personnel and the Haryana Police took over control of the canal at around 4 a.m, official sources said. All protesters who were squatting at the site were evicted.
Haryana's Irrigation Department officials are at the spot and were engaged in carrying out repairs.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has called a cabinet meeting in the afternoon to take stock of the situation.
Delhi has been facing a water crisis following cut in its supply from Haryana due to the Jat stir, prompting the government to order shutting of all schools on Monday and rationing of water.
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Haryana DGP Yashpal Singhal had said yesterday that their first priority was to restore Delhi's water supply from Akbarpur Barota point in Sonipat.
Haryana's Additional Chief Secretary (Home) P K Das said yesterday that they were facing difficulty in evicting protesters from the Munak Canal. Efforts for eviction had temporarily been suspended as the situation could turn volatile.
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.
