A 61-day-long agitation by residents of Chanot village in Hisar over drinking water supply is set to end after the Centre approved a four-inch ‘T’ connection from the main water pipeline following the intervention of Union Minister for Power, Housing and Urban Affairs Manohar Lal Khattar.

The breakthrough came during a meeting chaired by Khattar in Hansi on Wednesday.

Speaking to reporters, Khattar said the village’s demand had been examined by the Public Health Engineering Department. “The technical assessment found that the main pipeline has sufficient capacity and providing an additional connection to Chanot will not affect water supply to neighbouring villages,” he said.

Based on the report, the government approved a four-inch ‘T’ connection from the main pipeline. Khattar said the village’s existing water supply system would continue as before, while the new connection would serve as an additional and alternative source to meet future demand or ensure water supply in case of any disruption in the existing system.

He directed officials to resolve technical and administrative issues related to the National Highway widening project and begin work on the new pipeline on priority. “The government is committed to ensuring adequate and safe drinking water to every village,” he said.

Members of the protest committee, Anoop and former Chanot sarpanch Satyawan, termed the decision a victory for the villagers. They said a village meeting would be convened shortly to formally withdraw the agitation following the government’s assurance.

The villagers had been staging a sit-in for nearly two months, demanding a separate drinking water connection. During the agitation, they organised a relay hunger strike, held mahapanchayats with neighbouring villages and received support from several political and social organisations. Although multiple rounds of talks had failed earlier, Wednesday’s meeting paved the way for a resolution.

The meeting was attended by Public Health Engineering Minister Ranbir Singh Gangwa, Rajya Sabha MP Subhash Barala, MLA Vinod Bhayana, Deputy Commissioner Rahul Narwal, Superintendent of Police Vinod Kumar and other senior officials, public representatives and villagers.