Jhansi: The residents of Luhari village in Bangra block of Jhansi on Friday formally took over the operation and maintenance of their piped water supply system during a ‘Jal Arpan Diwas’ programme.The programme, held under the Jal Jeevan Mission is aimed at providing piped water to each rural house. It is being organised in villages that have achieved 100% household tap water coverage under the ‘Har Ghar Jal’ campaign.The responsibility for managing the water supply was transferred to the gram panchayat and local community, with Mauranipur MLA Rashmi Arya handing over a ceremonial ‘Jal Kalash’ (earthen water pitcher) to the village head (gram pradhan).Kamal Kishore Soan, mission director of the National Jal Jeevan Mission and additional secretary in the Ministry of Jal Shakti, said Bundelkhand, once dependent on water tankers and even water trains to meet drinking water needs, has witnessed a significant turnaround with piped water reaching households. Joginder Singh, executive director of the State Drinking Water and Sanitation Mission, recalled witnessing acute water scarcity during his first posting in Hamirpur and said community participation would be crucial n preserving water resources.The MLA and senior officials also visited households to inspect tap water connections and carried out water quality tests.Earlier in the day, school children took out an awareness rally on water conservation and sanitation. As part of the “Jal Bandhan’ campaign, they tied symbolic ‘rakhis’ to tap connections to highlight the importance of protecting water resources. On this occasion women trained in using Field Test Kits (FTKs) for monitoring drinking water quality were felicitated with certificates for their contribution. The programme concluded with cultural performances by local children conveying the message of water conservation.
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