Gurugram: Silokhra villagers call off protest after demands met

Villagers had threatened to stall construction of the BJP office if their demand for a community centre wasn’t met

Faced with a threat of protest from villagers, deputy commissioner Vinay Pratap Singh reached Silokhra at 6am sharp and oversaw a Bhoomi Pujan for a proposed community centre in the village. The ceremony was held before the ground breaking ceremony for the district office of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at a site nearby at 7am.

BJP leaders at the ground breaking ceremony for the party office at Silokhra on Monday. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The villagers had threatened to protest and stop construction of the BJP office, if they did not get a community centre and other amenities. A portion of the village land was earlier earmarked for the BJP office, but the site was changed following protests.

After the Bhoomi Pujan, the DC organised the ground breaking ceremony for the community centre with the help of residents from 360 villages. After getting an assurance that their demands will be met, the villagers called off the protest against the construction of the BJP office and a group housing society for the ruling party MLAs in Sector 41, near South City 1.

“The design and estimate of the project (community centre) will be prepared within the next 15 days. The MCG (Municipal Corporation of Gurugram) will bear the entire cost of the project,” the DC said.

A delegation of residents from 360 villages met Vinay Pratap Singh on Sunday, demanding a water body, a park and a community centre on 3.89 acres of land earmarked by the Haryana Urban Development Authority (Huda). The delegation decided to call off the protest following an assurance that the Bhoomi Pujan for the community centre would be conducted an hour before the one for the BJP office.

Read I Silokhra site: Residents to protest setting up of BJP office today

Mahendra Singh Thakran, a resident of Jharsa, said, “The DC agreed to our demands and reached the village at 6am sharp and helped us conduct the Bhoomi Pujan and ground breaking ceremony for the community centre.”

The villagers had been holding protests since getting word that the Huda had acquired village land and had sold it to the BJP for setting up the party office and the group housing society.

“Huda sold a 1-acre plot to the BJP, which once used to be a pond. After our protests, the Huda earmarked an alternative site ( for the BJP office) two weeks ago. However, our protests continued till the DC agreed to set up a community centre, a park and also determine a site for a waterbody. We now want the Huda to pick alternative sites for two housing projects and build schools on the plot originally earmarked for these projects,” Mukesh Sharma, a Silokhra resident, said.

State BJP president Subhash Barala graced the ground breaking ceremony for the party office building along with other leaders. The ritual was organised amid tight security. Barala said 11 party offices are being constructed across the state and these would be ready before next general elections.