PATNA, April 1 -- In a show of defiance that shows no signs of relenting, more than a thousand striking officers of the Bihar Revenue Service (BRS)- circle officers and revenue officers alike - assembled here on Tuesday and vowed to stick to their mass casual leave until the government meets their core demands, which mainly include implementation of court orders and proper postings of BRS cadre officers on revenue posts. The Bihar Revenue Service Association (BiRSA) and its united wing (BiRSA U) called the gathering a "maha-jutaan" that laid bare the hollowness of the government's claims. BiRSA (U) president Aaditya Shivamshankar said the huge turnout proved five things beyond doubt: the collective leave is neither ending nor weakening; except for a handful of exceptions, no officer has returned to duty and fresh officers are joining the agitation every single day; contrary to official assertions, nobody is volunteering to take charge of vacant circles; the movement will continue until court directives are enforced and BRS officers are placed on revenue service positions; and the department's repeated assertions are simply untrue - "today's pictures are proof of our side of the story." Shivamshankar did not mince words about the government's latest threat to dismiss the 69 probationary officers of the 69th BPSC batch if they failed to reply to show-cause notices by April 13. He described it as part of a "divide-and-rule" policy laced with intimidation that would only harden the resolve of the striking cadre. The association also poured cold water on the revenue and land reforms department's much-publicised plan to launch a statewide anti-encroachment drive from April 1, calling it "another disaster in the making". With virtually the entire revenue machinery - officers and staff - on strike, the officials said, there would simply be no one on the ground to carry out such a massive operation. The government, for its part, has drawn a firm line. Deputy chief minister and revenue minister Vijay Kumar Sinha announced that 30 of the 69 probationary officers have already rejoined duty and gave the remaining 39 until the evening of March 31 to report back or face dismissal. Sinha insisted that 563 regular BRS officers are still working across the state and that, from April 1, every circle in Bihar will have a revenue service officer in place so that routine work - mutations, record corrections, e-mapping, land disputes and certificate issuance - does not grind to a halt. Separate show-cause notices have gone out to all 69 probationers, declaring their mass leave "illegal" and treating the period as *dies non*. Failure to reply by April 13 will trigger unilateral action, including removal from service, the department has warned. At the same time, principal secretary CK Anil has ordered all district magistrates, sub-divisional officers and circle officers to begin a special anti-encroachment campaign from Wednesday under Section 6(1) of the Bihar Public Land Encroachment Act, 1956. The drive is being projected as essential for urban beautification, smoother traffic and cleaner public spaces, with special focus on "No Man's Land" along the India-Nepal border in seven districts. Officials have been told to act with a human touch: encroachments by the poor will not be removed without first arranging rehabilitation or vending zones so that livelihoods are not destroyed. The two sides remain locked in a classic standoff - the government determined to restore administrative discipline and keep essential services running, the officers equally adamant that their legitimate grievances cannot be brushed aside with threats. Whether the April 1 anti-encroachment drive actually takes off or becomes the "disaster" the agitators predict may well be the first real test of who blinks first....