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.
Stressing that Rajiv Gandhi was a close friend, Amarinder Singh recalled that he always used ask when the day will come when people will have their own houses to live and India would be free from poverty. He, therefore, thought it apt to launch this scheme on the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, said the Chief Minister, adding that the Congress had fighting for the people for the last 130 years.
Sisodia, who is also the nodal minister for Covid management in the national capital, stated that no one can deny that Delhi grappled with an oxygen shortage during the peak of the second wave of the Covid pandemic (April-May) and several people died due to oxygen shortage.
Speaking at the meeting, Sonia Gandhi said, "Monsoon session of Parliament was a complete washout entirely due to the government's obstinate and arrogant unwillingness to discuss and debate urgent issues of public importance."
The Chief Secretary said the 300-bed state of the art hospital will act as a tertiary care centre for the entire northern region, comprising Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation's Subject Expert Committee has granted Zydus Cadila's three-dose vaccine emergency use authorisation in India. The vaccine can be administered to people aged 12 and above.
The Punjab Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has arrested former state Director General of Police (DGP) Sumedh Singh Saini in a fraud case pertaining to the sale of land in 2020 and is likely to be produced in a court on Thursday.
