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Hansi villagers call off T-joint protest after Khattar’s assurance
The assurance came after discussions between the Haryana government and representatives of the protesting villagers, bringing the prolonged agitation to an end
The 61-day-long protest at Chanot village in Hansi region for a T-connection from the Bhakra pipeline ended on Wednesday after Union power minister Manohar Lal Khattar assured the protesters that a 4-inch T-joint from the pipeline will be laid to supply water to the Hansi town.
The assurance came after discussions between the Haryana government and representatives of the protesting villagers, bringing the prolonged agitation to an end. The villagers had earlier announced to raise the issue during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Jind rally scheduled for July 17.
According to the officials, the breakthrough was achieved in a meeting held at Hansi, where Khattar mediated between the villagers and the administration and following the discussions, an agreement was reached.
Interacting with the media, former Haryana chief minister Khattar, public health engineering minister Ranbir Gangwa, and local MLA Vinod Bhayana announced that the government would ensure Chanot village does not face a drinking water crisis. They said that the government had decided to provide the village with a 4-inch drinking water connection from the Bhakra pipeline.
The Chanot protest committee members, Anup Chanot and former sarpanch Satyawan, described the agreement as a victory for the villagers. “The assurances given by the Union minister have addressed our concerns. The villagers will soon hold a meeting to formally end the 61-day protest,” they said.
The protest, which began on May 15, later received support from khap panchayats and farmers’ organisations, which also staged a protest outside DC offices in Haryana to demand the T-joint from the Bhakra pipeline.
The Bhakra pipeline project, aimed at supplying drinking water to Hansi city, was approved under AMRUT 2 scheme with an estimated cost of around ₹61.44 crore. On July 5, superintendent engineer of the public health engineering department, Sanjeev Tyagi, announced that the work on this project has been suspended and the project has been put on hold as NHAI has not granted the required NOC.
