In Haryana village, protest for drinking water is met with FIRs, teargas and social media curbs

How can a government after 78 years of Independence deny people the right to clean drinking water? What happened to the promise of “Har Ghar Jal” – of drinking water in every home?

Since mid-May, these are the questions being raised by the residents of Chanot village in Haryana’s Hansi district. Chanot is one of the 121 villages in Hansi district, which was demarcated as a new district in December.

The protests were triggered by a new 30-km water pipeline that is being laid from the Bhakra canal to Hansi town to supply drinking water. The residents of Chanot have demanded a connection to the pipeline, which runs through the village.

The pipeline is being laid as part of the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation, or AMRUT, scheme to provide water to urban households.

By June, about 50 residents of Chanot, including women and an octogenarian, began an indefinite fast demanding resolution of water and electricity problems.

At the protest site, plastic bottles filled with dirty yellow and black water have been strung up from a tent. Sitting under the tent, Chanot residents point to the bottles and tell news reporters, “This is the water we have been drinking for the past 20 years. The water is not even safe...

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