The much hyped political drama created by Haryana's main Opposition party, the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) over re-digging of the controversial Sutlej-Yamuna Link (SYL) canal finally ended here on Thursday with arrest of party leaders and workers at Haryana-Punjab border before they could reach the targeted destination
in the neighboring state.

Despite its tall claims on, the party failed to dig up the canal in a bordering village in Punjab as its leaders including leader of Opposition Abhay Singh Chautala and party's state president Ashok Arora along with their supporters were barred here by the Punjab police at Shambhu barrier in Ambala.

INLD workers from across the state gathered at vegetable market near the Punjab border and held a rally that was addressed by Chautala and other senior party leaders calling upon the party workers to march towards Kapuri village in the neighboring state for digging up the canal.

Over 10,000 INLD workers led by Chautala carrying grub hoes in their hands started marching towards the Punjab border but were stopped by the Haryana police saying as ordered by the Supreme Court's for maintaining the law and order on the issue. The protestors, however, succeeded in breaking Haryana police's three-tier security arrangements and headed towards the Punjab police barricades on river Ghaggar.

Though the INLD brigade failed to breach the Punjab police barricades as the nearly 5000 police personnel were deployed here following the
sabre-rattling by the INLD. Apart from heavy deployment, drone cameras, water cannons and chilly guns were put in to take care of the INLD protestors threatened to
enter the Punjab for digging up the canal at Kapuri village in district Patiala.

After a standstill for nearly an hour between the protestors and the Punjab police, the INLD Leaders and supporters were asked by the Punjab administration leave the spot as Section 144 of the CrPC was imposed there but the INLD men refused to leave the venue, more than 90 INLD leaders including Chautala, Arora along with other sitting and former MLAs and workers arrested by the Punjab police.

Nearly three month ago, the INLD had announced that it would re-dig the controversial canal on February 23 in Punjab's village. While the political parties including the ruling BJP and the Congress had termed it mere a gimmick.

Decades-old contentious issue between the two states again hit the headlines during the previous year when the Supreme Court on November 10, held as unconstitutional the 2004 Punjab Termination of Agreements Act passed by Punjab State Legislative Assembly to terminate the SYL canal water sharing agreement with neighbouring state. The decision led a political storm in both of the states.