BATHINDA, Sept. 7 -- Chief minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said due to the efforts of the AAP government, the state had registered a significant turnaround in its groundwater level situation, according to a latest survey. Mann said Punjab's groundwater had started to climb for the first time in a generation, rising by 3 to 5 metres across several blocks. Addressing the 'Lok Milni' programme at Ghudda village in Bathinda, the CM connected a phone call to Krishan Kumar, principal secretary, department of water resources, to share details with the public directly from a microphone about a landmark development in releasing the highest-ever volume of water in canals. Kumar said that Punjab has released more than 40,000 cusecs of water in irrigation channels, up from the average 22,000-23,000 cusecs previously. The CM targeted the opposition leaders for "levelling fabricated charges against his wife and other family members". He alleged that since the opposition has nothing to highlight against the AAP government, they are making personal and false accusations. In his address, Mann said that the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) was now keen to realign with the BJP, which was "weakening" the federal powers of Punjab. He claimed that the Centre was intending to reintroduce the contentious farm laws, which the BJP-led Union government repealed with the support of Akalis. The CM claimed that despite being the ancestral place of the Badal family, late CM Parkash Singh Badal did not maintain a connection with the residents of Ghudda village....