Lucknow, 22 March (HS) : The fear of Japanese encephalitis and Acute Encephalitis Syndrome (AES) will end forever in Uttar Pradesh as the Yogi Government gears up to put the last nail in the coffin of the two as well as diseases caused by fluoride and arsenic contamination in the state.
The State Government has started preparations for the third and fourth phases of the Har Ghar Nal Yojana. In the third and fourth phases, the State Government will supply pure drinking water in areas identified for Japanese encephalitis and meningitis, as well as regions with prevalence of fluoride and arsenic contamination related diseases.
A spokesperson of the state government says that the Namami Gange Department has already started preparations in this regard. The priority areas of for the third phase have been identified. The survey work for the fourth phase has also been almost completed. The State Government has given instructions to the officers to start the water supply system at war footing in these areas. The third phase covers several large districts of Purvanchal and central UP, the spokesperson said.
He said that the State Government has implemented Har Ghar Nal Yojana to provide safe tap water to every household in the state as part of the Central Government’s Jal Jeevan Mission in four phases. The first phase started in Bundelkhand while the second is taking place in Vindhya region. The third phase will see provision of water supply in Japanese encephalitis and meningitis endemic areas, whereas the fourth phase will cover areas on the banks of river Ganga with prevalence of fluoride and arsenic related diseases.
It is noteworthy that under the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Government of India, the UP Government is working on 12 projects in Bundelkhand at a cost of about Rs 2,185 crore. Through the Har Ghar Nal Yojana launched in June last year, the Yogi Government is currently engaged in providing clean drinking water in rural areas of Bundelkhand to benefit 67 lakh people. The biggest beneficiaries of this scheme will be the women of these areas, who have to bring water from far and wide to drink.
The spokesperson said that the Yogi Government is focusing on Jhansi, Lalitpur and Mahoba in the first phase with work reported to be progressing rapidly in these districts. Pipelines are being laid while cleaning of water in rivers and dams have also started. In Jhansi, 10 schemes worth Rs 1627.94 crore will be based on river water. Lalitpur will have pipeline based potable water schemes worth Rs 1623.47 crore, including 16 surface water resources and 12 groundwater schemes. At the same time, water will be transported to 364 villages at a cost of 1219.74 crore in Mahoba.
41 lakh villagers to get clean water
He further said that the State Government is also working on war footing to provide clean water to every household in Sonbhadra and Mirzapur districts of the Vindhya region. The scheme will benefit more than 41 lakh villagers of the Vindhyas. The Yogi Government seeks to supply safe drinking water through pipelines to 1606 villages of Mirzapur, benefiting 21,87,980 villagers. Besides,1389 villages of Sonbhadra will join the drinking water supply network of the government soon benefiting 19,53,458 families he said adding that in Sonbhadra, water of lakes and rivers will be purified in order to be supplied for drinking.
