Doing what we do to enemy: HC on Pb-Hry tussle over Bhakra

The Bhagwant Mann-led Punjab government on Tuesday told the Punjab and Haryana high court that while state police were deployed at the Nangal dam for security, they are not interfering with the operations of the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and accused the opposing counsel of "stating a bunch of lies".

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Exchanges between the two sides - Punjab on one and the BBMB, Haryana and the Union government on the other prompted the high court chief justice to caution the neighbouring states against treating each other as enemy nations.

"We are doing this to our enemy country. Let us not do this within our states," said chief justice Sheel Nagu, who closed the hearing for final orders. A judgment was yet to be issued at the time of going to print.

Punjab's stance, submitted through an affidavit filed by the Punjab chief secretary, came after BBMB moved the court and alleged that Punjab police "forci bly took over" the operation and regulation of the Nangal dam and prevented release of water to Haryana. "Punjab took a specific stand that neither the Punjab Police was interfering with BBMB's work nor was it stopping them from doing their work," senior advocate Gurminder Singh, representing Punjab, told reporters after the hearing. "Half facts are being told.