Building SYL canal can 'trigger militancy' in Punjab: Amarinder

Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh on Thursday warned of "resurgence of militancy in Punjab", if the SYL canal is built without factoring in the realities of old "Naxalite and Khalistani belt" of the state's southern part.

Amarinder claimed that with an estimated 10 lakh acres of land in southern Punjab expected to go dry as a result of SYL, the 6 lakh odd people of the region, which has a "history of militancy and extremism", would be "forced to resort to violence to feed their children."