Have you ever wondered if the water you drink is safe? Are there bacteria in it? Have you done any water testing in your area? Is there enough water for everyone in the area? Does everyone have access to clean water? Answers to all these questions can be found in this article.
Water is life. We all know that water is essential for our survival. Water is essential for everyday life. Water is used not only for drinking, but also for domestic purposes, growing crops in the field and producing various industrial products.
Groundwater has so far been chosen as the source of drinking water, but as the demand for groundwater is increasing, the water level is decreasing on the one hand, and the water on the surface, such as rivers, drains, canals, beels, lakes, ponds, is becoming increasingly polluted.
The pollution of arsenic fluoride, chloride, iron, etc. has also increased due to excessive extraction of irrigation water from the soil and use of pesticides in agricultural fields. Contamination of water has also increased the incidence of water-borne diseases - for example, typhoid, cholera, polio, various chronic diseases, skin cancer, fluorosis, etc.
Jal Jeevan Mission :
The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched in 2019 with the objective of providing 55 litres of potable water per capita per day to every rural household in adequate quantity, proper quality and affordable price.
The Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide safe and adequate drinking water to every household in rural Bengal by 2025. The Gram Panchayat will take the responsibility of planning, formulating, managing, maintaining and operating the water supply system in the villages within its jurisdiction so that safe drinking water reaches every household in a sustainable manner.
By 2024, arrangements have been made to provide water connections to government institutions or government-aided institutions such as Gram Panchayat Offices, schools, anganwadi centres, health centres and other Government Institutions in the villages.
The Objectives of JJM:
Creation of piped water supply infrastructure in villages to provide tap water connection to every household.
Creating reliable drinking water sources or improving existing water sources so that water can be supplied in a sustainable system.
For effective tap water connections, priority should be given to water projects in villages with water quality problems, drought prone areas and villages under Adarsh Gram Yojana.
By 2024, every school, anganwadi centre, gram panchayat office, health centre and other government and government-aided institutions will be connected with drinking water.
To create a sense of ownership towards the resources (drinking water infrastructure) among the people of the village.
Ensure water infrastructure such as water sources, water supply infrastructure and long-term provision of funds for maintenance.
To create awareness among the villagers about the need for safe drinking water, water conservation, proper use of water, recharge and virtuous use of wastewater, creation of drinking water sources, etc. For example, participation of individuals and institutions concerned with the need for safe drinking water, etc.
Ensure women's participation in planning and implementation.
Institutional Measures to Fulfill Jal Jeevan Mission (Institutional Mechanism):
An institutional framework is at least necessary to fulfill the water dream. To spread the idea of Jal Jeevan Mission from the state to the grassroots level i.e. the village and to make the people of the village aware of the Government programs in the true sense and to improve their efficiency, a workable structure is very essential to fulfill the role of society, administration and panchayats in the specific goal i.e. to provide safe drinking water to the households.
The structure is at three levels:
State Water and Sanitation Mission. SWSM)
District Water and Sanitation Mission. DWSM)
Committee on Rural Water and Sanitation (Village Water and Sanitation Committee-VWSC)
Gram Panchayats have been divided into three main structures from State level to District level to Gram Panchayat level for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission.
The State Water and Sanitation Mission is at the state level to provide drinking water and sanitation to the people of the villages. The objective is to issue state policy directions at the state level for implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission and to devise a comprehensive planning strategy and formulation of policy and procedures at the state level for providing safe drinking water to rural households.
So that every household in the village can have functional tap water connection by 2025. Approval should be given to formulate programs at the state level in this regard.
How to get information about the water at your locality?
While the information about Jal Jeevan Mission is available here, the pure water information of the area can be found on the website of Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India https://ejalshakti.gov.in.
Here, information from any part of India can be easily found from the Citizen Corner menu.