Srinagar: Jal Jeevan Mission in Jammu and Kashmir has accomplished the task of ensuring functional tap water connections to all schools and anganwadi centres across the Union Territory, an official handout informed Friday.
It said the 100 percent coverage of schools and anganwadi centres comes much ahead of the set target of March 2022, and despite the challenges of difficult terrain.
The functional tap connections have been made available in all 22,422 schools and 23,926 anganwadi centers of the Union Territory. After Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir has become the second Union Territory to achieve this feat, the handout said.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had congratulated Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat for making clean drinking water accessible in Jammu and Kashmir. In one of his tweets, he said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Jammu and Kashmir has become “synonymous with peace and prosperity”.
Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat also lauded the achievement. In a tweet he said, “Jammu and Kashmir is progressing on the path of development. Children are finally getting clean drinking water. Modi ji has made the dream of Kashmiri brothers and sisters come true.”
A 100-day campaign to provide tap water to all schools and anganwadi centres was launched by the Union Jal Shakti Minister on Oct 02, 2020.The minister also wrote to the chief ministers and governors of various states and Union territories, urging them to provide tap water in schools.
Under Jal Jeevan Mission, Jammu and Kashmir has set a target of providing tap water to every rural household in the Union Territory by 2022. There are 18,35,190 rural households in J&K, out of which more than 10,27,000, i.e. about 56 percent of homes have been provided tap water connections, the handout said.
It said Ganderbal and Srinagar have achieved the target of becoming ‘Har Ghar Nal’ districts. There are 1056 villages where every household gets clean drinking water from tap, the handout said.
“The target of providing tap drinking water connection to every school in the state was difficult, but we completed it ahead of time. We will ensure that the supply remains stable in the future by continuous monitoring and maintenance of infrastructure and resources,” said Syed Abid Rasheed Shah, Mission Director, JJM-Jammu and Kashmir.
The Jal Jeevan Mission was launched by the Prime Minister from the ramparts of the Red Fort on August 15, 2019. It is being implemented in partnership with the states to provide tap water connections to every rural household by 2024.
