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.
Almost 15 months after the farmers' agitation began against the (now scrapped) farm laws and other issues, the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), an umbrella body of farmer unions that led the protest, said on Thursday that it has suspended the agaitation after receiving positive assurances from the government on their demands, adding that the borders of Delhi will be cleared by Saturday.
India's civil aviation regulator, the DGCA, on Thursday extended the ban on scheduled international commercial flights till January 31.Earlier, India had announced plans to allow resumption of scheduled commercial international passenger services from December 15 with certain conditions.
The Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with the country's top security officers held a meeting on Wednesday over the situation arising out of the IAF chopper crash in Tamil Nadu that killed Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife and 11 others onboard the ill-fated helicopter.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM), the umbrella body of the farmers protesting along the borders of the national capital over agricultural issues, have agreed to the draft proposal prepared by the Central government, and is expected make a "major announcement" on Thursday. A meeting is likely to be held on Thursday noon to decide the further strategy of the movement.
Former Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday lashed out at the Congress high command for appointing Ajay Maken as the Chairman of the screening committee for shortlisting candidates for the next Vidhan Sabha elections in Punjab. In a statement here, Amarinder Singh said Maken is the nephew of (late) Lalit Maken, who was one of the main culprits of the 1984 anti-Sikh riots in Delhi.
