The dharna committee at Chanot village has decided to scale up the agitation on their demand for water as they called upon khap panchayat and other organisations to submit memorandum to back the demand in various districts on March 3 and also announced to hold tractor march in Chanot village on March 4 as a show of strength and also to form a human chain from dharna site to the waterworks in the village.
The dharna committee urged the authorities to revoke the ban on various social media pages and individual accounts — that had been restricted — by tomorrow and warned to take some tough measures. Besides, they also decided to block the Hansi road on March 6 from 1 am to 3 am.
The dharna — which started on May 16 — has entered 46th day today by residents of Chanot village over their demand for a drinking water connection from the 900-mm Bhakra pipeline.
Meanwhile, the protest has received support from various social organisations, farmers’ bodies and khap panchayats from the region. The villagers have been demanding a water connection for Chanot village from the Bhakra pipeline passing through the village. The 900-mm pipeline is being laid to carry water from Rajli Head to Hansi town under the AMRUT scheme to meet the drinking water needs of urban areas.
As the administration has refused the villagers’ demand for a connection from the pipeline, the protesters remain adamant, stating that water from the pipeline would permanently solve the village’s drinking water problem. Several rounds of talks, including discussions with the Haryana Chief Minister, have failed to resolve the issue.
However, the protesters were upset with the authorities after several social media accounts of media outlets and individuals, including Tractor Times and Kisan News Haryana sharing updates about the protest have been banned.
Meanwhile, residents of another village of the district — Singhwa Ragho village also expressed support for the Chanot agitation while raising their own drinking water concerns.
They held a meeting in the village today and alleged that they have been facing water crisis due to inadequate water supply from canal to their waterworks.
Naresh, a villager, said the issue had been raised with the concerned department several times, but no permanent solution had been provided till now.
The villagers gave the administration a two-day ultimatum, warning that if adequate water supply is not ensured within the stipulated period, they will block the Barwala-Hansi road. They also announced support for the ongoing Chanot protest and said that if the issue is not resolved in time, they would join hands with other villages to intensify the agitation.
