2.6 crore households provided piped drinking water, says Prime Minister

Tribune News Service/PTI

New Delhi, November 22

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said more than 2.6 crore families, including in Uttar Pradesh, have been provided with piped drinking water in the country under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM).

The JJM was launched on August 15, 2019, with an aim to provide tap drinking water to every rural household by 2024.

Laying the foundation stone of rural drinking water projects in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of the Vindhyachal region in Uttar Pradesh today via video-conferencing, Modi said they would go a long way in redressing water problems of the areas, besides boosting the economy.

“Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the life of our mothers and sisters is getting easier due to easy water access in the comfort of their homes,” Modi said. “A major benefit has been reduction in diseases like cholera, typhoid and encephalitis, which are caused due to consumption of contaminated water.”

The projects will provide tap water connections to all rural households in 2,995 villages and will benefit over 42 lakh people. The estimated cost of the projects is about Rs 5,555 crore and are planned to be executed in 24 months.

In a veiled attack on non-BJP governments in Uttar Pradesh, the PM noted that Vindhyachal or Bundelkhand became “regions of deficiencies”, despite having resources in abundance.

Modi said once piped water reached thousands of villages in Vindhyachal, the health of children would improve. “When you get freedom to take decisions and work on those decisions for the development of your village, it boosts confidence,” he added.

Praises Yogi govt for development

Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday lauded the Uttar Pradesh Government and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath for the pace of the development, despite the Covid pandemic. “The image of UP Government and its officials is changing,” Modi said. PTI

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