E-Paper
‘Record’ tap water connections in U.P. on PM’s b’day
The Yogi 2.0 government on Saturday provided about 1.21 lakh tap water connections in rural household in the state which coincided with PM Modi’s 72nd birthday
Months after Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the “Har Ghar Nal” (tap water in each household) scheme in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi government on Saturday provided about 1.21 lakh tap water connections in rural household in the state which coincided with PM Modi’s 72nd birthday.
U.P. government officials indicated that this was a “record” for single-day distribution of tap water connections in the country. The Yogi 2.0 government has set a target of ensuring 100% saturation in drinking water in water starved areas of Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions of the state by 2024.
BJP leaders admitted that there is a plan to market the achievement in not just Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions alone but in all other parts as well.
“What has not happened in centuries has been done in a record time. By 2024, when we approach the people (in Lok Sabha polls), we will have a list of big-ticket achievements and certainly this scheme to ensure clean drinking water to rural households would be right there among other high-impact moves,” a senior BJP leader said.
“Under the ‘Har Ghar Jal Scheme’, as many as 1,20,821 households in rural areas were provided tap water connections in the state while about 2.59 lakh tap water connections were delivered across the country,” officials said.
Of the 2.59 lakh tap water connections provided in the country, U.P. alone accounted for over 1.20 lakh connections. As per a data on the official site of Jal Jeevan Mission, other states that provided tap water connections on September 17 were Andhra Pradesh (30,643), Karnataka (25,377), Tamil Nadu (18,671), Maharashtra (17,649) and Madhya Pradesh (16,609).
Uttar Pradesh conducted about 40 percent distribution of tap connections made across the country, officials said. The government had earlier set a target of providing tap connections to 51,000 families in U.P. on the PM’s birthday.
“However, the Namami Gange and rural water supply department created a record by providing clean drinking water to two-and-a-half times more families than the target that was set. We have dedicated the achievement to the PM,” a department official said.
“The record was achieved by ensuring distribution in small districts as well,” the official added. “Among districts, Deoria topped by giving 4,212 connections, followed by 4,038 in Gorakhpur, 3,748 in Lakhimpur Kheri, 3,651 in Mahoba and 3,523 in Mirzapur,” the official added.
