Miracle of Jal Jeevan Mission in Bundelkhand
Digital Desk, Lucknow. For the people of Bundelkhand, it is no less than a dream that today they are getting water in their homes. There are so many stories of starvation and poverty due to water shortage in this area. The picture of a woman bringing water from far away places with a pitcher on her head had become the identity of the districts here. The women here have suffered water crisis for years. Along with drawing water from remote wells, water lines have been installed at hand pumps. But now all this is a thing of the past. Now the water tanks visible from a distance on the roads are a stream of hope.
If we talk about Mahoba, the people here have seen miserable days due to water shortage for a long time. Sometimes there was a need to supply water here by water train. People used to wander far and wide just to get a pitcher of water. Now the water tanks visible from a distance tell a new story. In this district, under Jal Jeevan Mission, pipeline connectivity has been given to more than 1 lakh 12 thousand houses with the help of five projects. However, for this, 1131 kilometers of roads were damaged. People did have to face some problems during the repair of damaged roads. Arshad of Mahoba says that when any scheme is started, there is bound to be some problem. But, now there is a huge hope for every household tap here.
Talking about Silota Gram Mustakil Group Scheme in Chitrakoot, the problem of water for 1.25 lakh people in the development blocks associated with it, Pahari, Ramnagar and Manikpur, has ended. Feel the pain of those people of Manikpur who once used to fetch water from almost a kilometer away…and because of this problem people there were not easily ready to marry their daughters. For them this water is life, the future of their children. Under the plan, 576 km of pipeline is to be laid in the entire area, of which 572 km has been laid.
There are 17 overhead tanks where water is being brought daily from the water treatment plant. Water is being brought from Yamuna river, modified in this plant, put in tanks and delivered to people's homes. Village head of Barhat, Mrs. Rajjan Devi gets emotional while discussing this scheme. She says that we are grateful to the Yogi-Modi government that they have made arrangements to protect our children from diseases. Our children now go to school without washing. The feeling of cleanliness has started coming to them automatically.
Along with Silota, Raipura, Chandi Bangar village group drinking water schemes are going on in Chitrakoot and all these schemes are a stream of hope which people had not even thought about. Under the Raipura Village Group Drinking Water Scheme, a target was set to provide tap water to 19570 families. Taps have been installed in all these houses and water supply has been started in 60 revenue villages. Chunabad Yadav, a resident of Madana village covered under the scheme, says that our big problem has been solved. It was difficult to arrange water for ourselves, leave alone the animals. Now we don't have to worry.
For people it may be just a matter of tap but for Bundelkhand it is a boon. This is actually the fulfillment of that resolution, which the Modi-Yogi government took as a spiritual practice. The pipeline of Jal Jeevan Mission has been laid till Bada village of Jhansi, Chirgaon and the last village in Bangra. Kamta Prasad, 65, of Gairaha Gram Panchayat located in Bangra development block of Jhasi district, became emotional. Said that the eyes were longing to see this day. Shagun, a married woman from this village situated away from the district headquarters, says that earlier she had to go half a kilometer away from the village to get water and it was very difficult during the rains.
When Ragini came as a daughter-in-law to Gram Panchayat Pachwara of Bangra block of Jhansi district, she had to carry water from the government hand pump. Now she opens the tap and shows how clean the water is. The daughter-in-law of a poor family is happy that her laborer husband Mukesh Kumar did not have to pay even a single penny and the tap connection was made. Gram Panchayat head Akhilesh Rawat says that one thousand connections have been made in his village. A tap has also been installed under the Jal Jeevan Mission in the Arogya Mandir built by the Yogi government in the Dalit dominated village, where clean water is available for the patients and attendants. Even in government schools, children are drinking clean water. Ranvijay Singh, Executive Engineer of Jal Jeevan Mission, says that 42 villages are covered under this scheme and 11 thousand 437 connections have been made in these villages.
As soon as the name of Banda was mentioned, words like drought, water shortage and thirst etc. automatically started flashing in the mind. Now water has reached 544 villages through Amlikour Drinking Water Project and Khatan Drinking Water Project. Connections have been made in 82266 houses. Pardeshi, a resident of Bandha Purva village of Badokhar Khurd block, said that earlier we had to worry about water. Now we are getting clean water in our homes itself. Jal Nigam Executive Engineer Vimal Kumar Verma told that the roads which were dug to lay the pipeline. Those have also been rectified. Two drinking water projects are also going on in Hamirpur where tap water is being supplied to homes in 320 out of 322 villages. This scheme is going to be very important in the lives of the people here.
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