Protesting farmers have started raising pucca brick-and-cement structures on the highways of the Singhu and Tikri borders as the dissent against the central government’s three new farm laws continue. The concerned government authorities were compelled to intervene and halt the building work midway at Singhu.

However, the construction of these permanent chambers continues in Tikri as the dissenting farmers claim that they are preparing themselves for the grueling summer months. In fact, the protestors even performed the ‘griha pravesh’ of their first pucca settlement in Tikri on 12th March by tying a green parrot to the window.

Apparently, the farmers sourced raw material like bricks, cement and bamboos from the shops near Tikri border. Thatch, also known as chhappar, was sent to them from Haryana. Apparently, these houses have proper arrangements for ventilation too.

“This is how we make houses on the fields as well. We have all made such houses in our villages. There are no professional builders here. We have always been told to build the walls with a few gaps in the middle. That way, we get cool air,” a 41-year-old Anu Malik told Indian Express.

The farmers admitted that they do not have any required permission for building these houses and also mentioned that their chambers turn into the headquarters for the Kisan Social Army.

In these, they are taught to coordinate social media activities, and make sure that their ration reaches the required place. The agitators are now even planning to develop an air-conditioner ‘jhopri’ by installing ACs in their settlements.

“The SDM and DSP, Bahadurgarh spoke to the farmers today and told them not to build pucca structures anymore, to which they agreed,” Jhajjar District Collector Jitendra Kumar was quoted in the report.

Anand Kumar, the Manager Technical of National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), is working with the Project Director at NH-44. He insisted that illegal structures cannot be raised in the highways and he assured that necessary action will be taken against the miscreants.

“The highway can’t be used for making residential spaces. We received information from officials about the illegal construction and have asked police to take legal action. The permanent structures at the border are being made without our permission. A complaint has been lodged,” Kumar told the publication.

Kisan Social Army

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