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.
On January 12 this year, the Supreme Court had stayed the implementation of the three farm laws after scores of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh pitched their tents on various Delhi borders in protest against the three laws.
A nine-member committee of the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM), the consortium of protesting farmers' bodies, will be meeting on Saturday, and it is likely to put forth four main demands. The meeting will also decide whether the SKM will go ahead with the originally announced 'March Towards Delhi' programme on November 26.
Congress legislator and Punjab unit party president Navjot Singh Sidhu on Friday said the minimum support price (MSP) is the bigger issue than farm laws as it is the lifeline of farmers.
Extending his greetings to the people on Prakash Purb of Guru Nanak Dev, the Chief Minister said it was really a matter of great honour to inaugurate this prestigious project which happens to coincide with Gurpurab.
Three employees of Air India, accused of having a role in the smuggling of gold, have been arrested, officials said on Friday. They have been accused of having a hand in a recent incident wherein 1.5 kg gold -- stored beneath an aircraft's seat -- was seized.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's announcement on Friday to repeal the three farm laws has brought cheers to the agitating farmers' organisations.However, Anil Ghanwat, a farm leader from Maharashtra who was one of the three members of the Supreme Court appointed committee on farm laws earlier this year, has termed the decision as "unfortunate".
