We have heard of many homes being uprooted and moved to a different location in the West, but in a poor country like India it’s not something we can hope to see, especially in a rural area. But, Sukhwinder Singh Sukhi a Sangrur farmer is doing just that. He had the option of moving to a new house after his land was to be acquired for the Delhi-Jammu-Katra Expressway, but he chose to move his entire house instead, making use of the technology that is available now. His home, spread over 1,000 square yards, is being moved on wheels to a new location — 500 feet away.

Sukhi’s family owned nearly 10 acres in Roshanwala village and between 2017 and 2019, the family got their two-storey “dream home” constructed at an expense of about `1.5 crore. Now, 2.5 acre is being acquired for the expressway project.

Sukhi refused the Punjab Government’s offer to pay him a huge compensation to demolish his house, which is coming in the way of a national road project.

“I was offered compensation but didn’t want to build another house. I have spent around `1.5 crore to build it,” Sukhi told ANI.

“It took me two years and `1.5 crore to build this house. It’s my dream project, I did not want to construct another house,” the farmer said.

Every day, a large force of workers and labourers are moving the house by 10 feet. Till date, the two-storeyed house has been moved by more than 250 feet from its original location.

The work to “shift” the house has been given to a private contractor, involving a total cost of around `50 lakh. The work has been going on for the past two months and it is expected that it would take two more months to

complete.

The expressway being constructed under the Centre’s Bharatmala project is aimed at reducing the travel time, will pass through Haryana, Punjab, and Jammu and Kashmir.