Women given pivotal role under 'Har Ghar Jal': Water minister Shekhawat
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Mar, 2022 03:17 PM
New Delhi, March 8 (IANS) Union Minister Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat on Tuesday said that women are given a pivotal role under the 'Har Ghar Jal' as they are the primary stakeholders and are involved in the programme from the very beginning.
"The women are part of planning, monitoring and also receive training to undertake water quality testing from time-to-time under the Jal Jeevan Mission. It is a move to empower the women and reduce their drudgery. The present government ensures 'ease of living' especially for people living in rural areas so that the urban-rural divide is bridged," Shekhawat said.
The Minister was talking ahead of the session he will be chairing as part of the Regional Conference with Ministers from six states and UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands to review the progress made under Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen on Wednesday.
The conference will be held at Kolkata, attended in person by Minister of State for Jal Shakti, Prahlad Singh Patel, state Ministers along with senior officers from rural water supply and sanitation department, a release from the Ministry of Jal Shakti said.
States of Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Odisha, West Bengal and UT of A&N Islands would participate and discuss on issues and challenges they are facing in implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission and Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen.
Among the participating states and UT, A&N Islands has provided 100 per cent coverage to all its rural households in 2021. Bihar aims to become 'Har Ghar Jal' in 2022, followed by Chhattisgarh and Mizoram in 2023 and finally Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal in 2024.
Just a month away from the Assembly polls in Punjab, the Sanyukt Samaj Morcha (SSM), a group of farm organisations, in its maiden electoral foray after getting the Central agricultural laws revoked, on Wednesday released its first list of 10 candidates out of 117 seats.
After the Model Code of Conduct came into force in the state for the Punjab Vidhan Sabha elections, enforcement teams have seized valuables worth Rs 23.8 crore in violation of code, besides confiscating unaccounted cash till January 12, Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Punjab S. Karuna Raju said on Thursday.
Channi expressed regret while participating in a virtual meeting chaired by Prime Minister Modi with Chief Ministers and Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of states and UTs to review the prevailing Covid situation as well as the ongoing vaccination drive.
Unveiling the first set of plans in his Punjab Model with focus on resurrection of Punjab, Sidhu, in the absence of Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and his Cabinet colleagues, told the media here: "Punjab Model is people's model, an effort to give a roadmap to return power to people."
Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Tuesday said that he "personally" feels that alliance with the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in Punjab had cost the BJP heavily.
India on Tuesday recorded 1,68,063 new Covid cases, taking the total tally to 8,21,446. Although the fresh infections were 6.4 per cent less than Monday when the country logged 1,79,723, the weekly positivity rate has climbed to 8.85 per cent and the daily positivity rate has declined to 10.64 per cent. On the other hand, 4,461 Omicron cases were recorded from 28 states.
