Patiala, May 12 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said the Bhakhra Beas Management Board (BBMB) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will be held responsible if violence breaks out over the ongoing water dispute. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, for the third time in a fortnight, reached the Nangal dam in Rupnagar district of Punjab after he came to know that BBMB officials reached the dam to release water to Haryana. AAP workers and some local villagers led by Punjab cabinet minister Harjot Singh Bains held a protest against the officials for their attempt to release water to the neighbouring state. This came four days after BBMB chairman Manoj Tripathi was allegedly locked inside Nangal dam's guest house by AAP workers. The trouble started on April 28 when Haryana demanded an additional 4,500 cusecs of water from the Bhakra dam which snowballed into a stand-off as Punjab refused to accept the decision. Criticising the attempts by the BBMB to send its officials to release water from the dam, Mann, in a post on X, said, "At the behest of the BJP government at the Centre, BBMB is not stopping its dirty deeds. While Punjab is standing firm against Pakistan on its border, the BJP government sitting at the Centre is once again going to put a stamp on the water of Punjab by the officials of BBMB." Speaking to reporters at the dam, Mann further warned the BJP and BBMB to not try to disturb the law and order in the region by sending officials to the dam. "If any untoward incident takes place, there is any loss of life and property or violence takes place, then BBMB and BJP will be held responsible for this," the chief minister said. "I want to tell the BBMB chairman that he himself has already tried to release the water to Haryana but failed. Please don't repeat this mistake. Last time, Punjab Police safely rescued him though, but they won't be able to help him every time. Now, people from the districts of the Malwa region have gathered here. Don't test our patience," said Mann. Mann's comments come days after the May 7 order of the Punjab and Haryana high court restraining the Punjab government and its functionaries, including police personnel, from interfering in the functioning of Nangal dam. The court had also directed the AAP government to comply with the BBMB's decision to release additional water for meeting the emergent needs of Haryana. The board's decision was taken in a meeting chaired by the Union home secretary on May 2 for the release of an extra 4,500 cusecs of water from BBMB dams to Haryana and Rajasthan. The court's direction came on a petition moved by the BBMB -- a central body that manages and regulates water in Bhakra, Pong and Ranjit Sagar dams -- which alleged that Punjab police had "forcibly" taken over operational control of the Nangal dam. Punjab had then claimed that it deployed additional security "in view of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam", while arguing that Haryana had already overdrawn its water quota and was "demanding irrigation water under the guise of drinking needs". "There was no order by the Punjab and Haryana high court to release water, but the BJP was illegally trying to take away water from Punjab," said Mann. "On the night of May 20, when the new cycle of water-sharing starts, Punjab will release water to Haryana. What is the hurry? Which crop do they have to sow? If they are adamant, so are we. We will continue to protect our water. If the BBMB wants to file any content notice, they should file against me, and not against the people protesting here at the Nangal dam," Mann further said. The CM added that Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who hails from Haryana, was behind this entire controversy, but his plans would not be allowed to succeed. Mann also slammed the BJP-led Centre for "advantage" of the border conflict with Pakistan to "send BBMB to lift the gates of the dam to loot Punjab's water". "On one hand, there is an atmosphere of terror in the border areas of Punjab due to the war. On the other hand, BJP, taking advantage of the war, sends BBMB to lift the gates to loot Punjab's water. We will not let this cheap trick of theirs against Punjab succeed," he said on X. Punjab, a border state, has been on edge following multiple drone and missile strikes in the wake of May 7 Operation Sindoor when India targeted nine terror sites in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. The military action came in response to the Pahalgam terror strike that claimed the lives of 26 people. Mann also criticised farmer unions over their silence on the ongoing water dispute. "We are trying to save water for farmers. Now where are farmers' unions? They have not issued a single statement in support of Punjab's waters. We will fight alone," he said."...