PROTESTING FARMERS ILLEGALLY TAPPING POWER, DAMAGING ROAD, SAYS NHAI

LUCKNOW: The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has accused the agitating farmers of illegally tapping electricity from its streetlight connection to run their different gadgets, including washing machines, heaters and TVS, besides damaging the road at the Ghazipur border on the under-construction Delhi-meerut Expressway.

The NHAI has urged the Uttar Pradesh government to get the road vacated in keeping with the terms and conditions of the State Support Agreement (SSA), which provides that barring reasons related to emergency, national security and law and order, no government agency or private individual will disrupt the highway project.

The NHAI charges come amid announcement by Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU) leader Rakesh Tikait that he would set up an air-conditioned office at the protest site, giving indications about the agitators readying for a long haul.

Incidentally Tikait, who has been sitting on the Up-delhi border with thousands of his supporters for more than two months now demanding rollback of the three controversial agriculture laws, is also a member of the State Advisory Committee (SAC) under the UP Electricity Regulatory Commission (UPERC). NHAI claims to have written a number of letters to authorities since December 16, 2020 bringing the issue to their notice and urging them to get the site vacated so that the expressway project could be completed as per fixed timeline.

“We have been regularly writing to the authorities for two months now about the farmers having illegally occupied the expressway, stealing electricity from our street lights, damaging the road etc and urging them to get the place vacated, but in vain,” said project director Mudit Garg.