The Jal Jeevan Mission’s ‘Har Ghar Jal’ (tap water at each doortstep) scheme has brought about a marked improvement in the lifestyle of Tharu community, especially women, living in Bankati village of Shravasti, according to a press release issued by the government.
There are 765 Tharu tribes in Bankati village of Bhachkohi gram panchayat of Shravasti. There are a total of 116 households.
“Besides helping them get rid of water-borne diseases, which were common earlier due to non-availability of pure drinking water, the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ scheme has also provided opportunity for many women to earn decent money through field test kit (FTK) training to test water quality,” as per the media release.
Shravasti suffers from high levels of arsenic, fluoride and iron content as well as contamination of water and 12 parameters are the backbone of FTK testing, done every 10 days by women to check water quality.
Tharu women are also engaged in raising general awareness on importance of clean water. “Now, many Tharu women after getting FTK training are engaged in testing the quality of water on a regular basis while raising people’s awareness about water related issues. They are also moving towards self-reliance with this training,” as per the release.