Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday claimed that the people of Bundelkhand would not face drinking water scarcity any more as tap water would be supplied to every household in the region by the end of this year.
Speaking at the five-day ‘India Water Week-2022’, which was inaugurated by President Draupadi Murmu in Greater Noida on Tuesday, Yogi said that provision of tap water connections in the dry and arid areas of Vindhya and Bundelkhand is going on a war footing under the ‘Har Ghar Nal Yojana’ of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the exercise would be completed by December this year.
Yogi said several steps have been taken under the Namami Gange project to clean the Ganga and the Sisamau sewer point in Kanpur, where the river was the most polluted in the state due to the release of a huge amount of waste on a daily basis, has become a selfie point.
Not only this, the changes are visible in Kashi as well due to the Namami Gange project, according to the CM. He added: “Earlier, the water of the Ganga river was not fit for drinking but today even dolphins, which had deserted the river due to pollution, are seen in the river. The Namami Gange project has restored cleanliness and unobstructed, continuous flow of the Ganga.”
Governor Anandiben Patel and Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat were present in the programme. Yogi said water conservation was one of the resolutions of Narendra Modi when he became the prime minister and the outcomes of his resolve are for everyone to see today.
The CM said that Uttar Pradesh has adequate water resources and availability of water. “Earlier, Vindhya and Bundelkhand regions of the state were considered dark areas in terms of water harvesting. In these areas, we have taken adequate measures regarding water harvesting in the last few years,” the CM said.
Yogi said a large portion of the state is covered by rivers originating from the Himalayas, which carry enough silt with them due to which many rivers were on the verge of extinction. “We revived them and gave them a new lease of life. So far, more than 60 rivers have been revived in the state. The Kumbh in Prayagraj took place on the banks of the confluence of the Ganga. Devotees and saints realised for the first time after decades that the water of the Ganga was fit for consumption,” he highlighted.
The CM said that Uttar Pradesh is the first state where plastic and thermocol have been banned. “Efforts are being made at different levels for water conservation in the state in view of the increasing population. Pure drinking water is the biggest need to save lives today. Keeping this in mind, so far the work of Amrit Sarovar has been completed in 58 gram panchayats in the state and it is being taken forward rapidly on a war footing,” he added.
