A large number of farmers under the banner of the Punjab Bachao Morcha on Wednesday staged a protest outside the residence of Agriculture Minister Gurmeet Singh Khuddian at Khuddian village in the Lambi Assembly segment in Muktsar district, demanding that the proposed Malwa Canal project be scrapped.Harinder Singh Thandewala, president of the Punjab Bachao Morcha, said a large number of farmers had been opposing the project and raising their concerns for more than a year. He said they had now decided to protest outside the minister’s residence to press the government to withdraw the proposal.The protesters alleged that the proposed canal could carry polluted water from the Sutlej, which is affected by the Buddha Nullah, to the Malwa region through the Harike system.They said the farmers had never demanded the new canal and alleged that the project had been proposed by officials despite opposition from farmers.The proposed 149-km Malwa Canal, estimated to cost around Rs 2,300 crore, is to originate from the Harike Headworks and pass through parts of Ferozepur, Faridkot and Muktsar districts. The government has said the canal, with a proposed carrying capacity of 2,000 cusecs, would irrigate nearly two lakh acres and help reduce dependence on groundwater.The farmers’ concerns over water quality have also figured in recent legal proceedings. The Punjab and Haryana High Court last month halted further land acquisition proceedings for the project until the environmental impact assessment (EIA) is finalised. The court order came in petitions filed by 273 landowners from Muktsar, Faridkot and Ferozepur districts.The protesters said several village panchayats had passed resolutions against the project.The protesters suggested that if the government wanted to provide additional water to farmers on the other side of the Sirhind Feeder canal, its carrying capacity could be increased and the remaining concrete-lining work completed.They also alleged that the state government had failed to fulfil its promise of providing free electricity to water lifting pumps installed along the Sirhind Feeder in the area. The farmers demanded HDPE pipelines for the lift pumps and sought installation of new lift pumps for farmers who had been left out.The farmers further claimed that the plastic sheets used during concrete lining of the Sirhind Feeder had resulted in decreased groundwater level in some pockets, causing problems for nearby agricultural land.The opposition to the Malwa Canal is not new. A faction of farmers has been opposing it since long.