Agartala: The BJP government in the last five years has undertaken a slew of development initiatives and piped drinking water supply to every household is one of those initiatives that have brought visible change in the lives of people.
As a result of the tireless efforts of the state government, as many as 3,74,614 families have received piped water drinking water supply to their home. The biggest beneficiary of this scheme is the womenfolk of the society. Days are past when women need to carry water from distant locations where government water taps are fixed.
Drinking water was one of the major problems faced by the people of rural and hilly areas of the state. With the onset of dry season every year, acute shortage of drinking water used to grip the rural villages.
Janjati people were the worst victims of the water shortages. Women carrying water from long distances was a common scene in the hilly areas of the state. And, those who have any problems have to rely on water sources like streams and rivulets which are seasonal in nature and owing to the water quality, water broke diseases were prevalent in the hilly areas of the state.
Even as the Left was in power for many years, it barely showed any interest to resolve the plight of Janajati people. Unlike the previous government, the present government has taken up the issue with importance and left no stones unturned to reach out to every village with water supply under Jal Jeevan Mission.
So far, 100 percent of households of a total of 36 Gram Panchayats and Village Councils are covered under the scheme. In urban areas, 1,399 urban and semi urban settlements have 100 percent coverage of the Jal Jeevan Mission.
New Rural Water and Sanitation Committees have been constituted in 1,176 Gram Panchayat areas of the State to ensure drinking water supply to every household. The members of this committee will supervise the activities of the local area to ensure that the work is completed as soon as possible without any compromise with the quality of work. A total of 1,690 new deep tube wells are being installed to create more sources of drinking water in the state. Along with this, a plan has been taken to create 69 sources of underground water supply. In addition, 643 deep tube well projects have already been commissioned and 7,53,754 pumps supplying underground drinking water have been commissioned.
In order to ensure that people from each and every household receive clean and purified drinking water, 2,655 small bore tube wells have been commissioned across the state. A total of 2154 such wells are on the pipeline.
As many as 61 new innovative water supply projects have been launched in different areas of the state and 201 more are coming up soon.
The government is not only providing purified drinking water to the households. Initiatives have also been taken to ensure that students get purified drinking water in the schools. Purified drinking water connections have been provided to 4,958 schools and Anganwadi centers in different areas of the state in order to maintain the health and hygiene of the students.
Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha has reiterated that the main objective of this government is to work for the welfare of the people and make governance accessible to all.
