SANGRUR, March 24 -- Punjab water resources minister Barinder Kumar Goyal laid the foundation stone of a project worth Rs 6.46 crore at Makrour Sahib to strengthen and raise the embankments of the Ghaggar river. He said that the government earlier strengthened the Ghaggar embankments at a cost of Rs 4 crore. As a result, during the floods in 2025, though the Ghaggar river remained above the danger mark for 10 consecutive days, people were largely protected from its impact. While addressing the media at his office in Lehragaga regarding canal water supply, canal modernisation, and the Punjab government's claim to recover Rs 1.44 lakh crore from the Rajasthan government for decades of unpaid water usage, the minister said that Rajasthan must either release Punjab's legitimate dues or stop using its water. Goyal said canal irrigation, which stood at only 26.5% in 2022, has now increased to 78% and is expected to reach 86% before paddy transplantation season and that 1,446 villages have received canal water for the first time since Independence. "From April 2022 till now, Rs 6,700 crore has been spent on canal lining, repair, modernisation, and strengthening of infrastructure," he said. htc...