Hundreds of residents of Chanot village in Hisar district intensified their protest for a T-joint from the underconstruction Bhakra pipeline by blocking the Hansi-Barwala road disrupting traffic for a few hours.Hundreds of residents of Chanot village in Hisar district intensified their protest for a T-joint from the underconstruction Bhakra pipeline by blocking the Hansi-Barwala road disrupting traffic for a few hours. (HT Photo)The villagers also slammed Haryana government’s decision to suspend the work of the pipeline in the absence of NOC from the National Highways Authority of India.The villagers, who have been agitating since May 16, pitched tents on the road and sat in protest, causing long queues of vehicles. Traffic was diverted through alternative routes, and police deployed extra personnel at the spot to maintain order.The protesters are demanding a T-connection from the Bhakra pipeline to supply drinking water to their village. They say the village has been facing a severe water crisis for a long time.Farmer leader Suresh Koth alleged that the government was trying to mislead residents of Chanot village as 60% of the work on this project has already been completed.According to the villagers, the protest is being carried out in phases as they had earlier submitted memorandums to the chief minister through deputy commissioners of all districts. On July 4, they held a tractor march and formed a human chain up to the village water tank. The road blockade on Monday was the next step in their plan. The villagers said they will continue the agitation until their demand is met.They added that a recent letter from the department concerned has stopped some pipeline work in the area. The protest has received support from leaders of various political parties, but no solution has been found so far as the state government had made it clear that the T-joint cannot be installed in this pipeline being laid under AMRUT scheme and it is meant for urban areas. 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.