Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in two districts of Uttar Pradesh on November 22. The Jal Jeevan Mission project will provide tapped water connection to houses of 2,995 villages covering 42 lakh population in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of Vindhyachal region. The project’s estimated cost is Rs.5,555.38 crore, and it is expected to be completed in 24 months.
2.6 crore families benefited from Jal Jeevan Mission since its launch
Jal Jeevan Mission was launched around one and a half years ago. Since then, the government has provided piped drinking water collections to over 2.6 crore families across country including Uttar Pradesh.
https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/1330398667459608577?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwThe health of the region will improve with tapped water
During his address to the people of these regions, PM Modi said that clean tapped water would improve the mental and physical health of the children living in thousands of villages in Vindhyanchal. A significant benefit of this project will be that it will reduce many diseases caused by dirty water, such as cholera, typhoid, encephalitis, and others. He added that it would make it easier for the women of the families as they have to travel long distances to get water.
https://twitter.com/PMOIndia/status/1330398920694874112?ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwIrrigation and water scarcity problems will be sorted out
Despite the region being rich in resources, Vindhyachal and Bundelkhand are often considered to be regions of deficiencies. There are several rivers in the region, but the people face water scarcity and droughts. A lot of families have migrated from the region due to the non-availability of water. The upcoming projects will help in dealing with water scarcity and irrigation issues in the region. PM Modi further added that completion of irrigation projects and solar projects on uncultivable land to provide steady extra income to the farmers.
Goa is the only state with a 100% tapped water supply
The government has so far provided 58 million tapped water connections. Around 30 percent of these connections were provided in rural areas. Goa is the only state in India that has achieved its target of 100% tapped water supply in the household. Telangana, Bihar, and Puducherry are expected to have full coverage by 2021. The total estimated cost of Jal Jeewan Mission is around Rs. 3.6 trillion out of which the central government will spend 2.08 trillion on the project.