Narendra Modi lays foundation stone of rural drinking water projects in UP's Sonbhadra and Mirzapur

Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday bemoaned the lack of development in Uttar Pradesh’s Vindhyachal region for decades after Independence, and said that despite resources, this region became an area of scarcity. The scarcity forced many people to migrate from the region, he said after laying the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of the state’s Vindhyachal region via video conferencing. Modi also interacted with village water and sanitation committee members during the event. “For decades after Independence, if any area had fallen prey to neglect, then it was this area. Be it Vindhyachal or Bundelkhand, this entire area despite having resources, became an area of scarcity. Despite having so many rivers, this area was identified as the most thirsty and drought-affected area. This was the reason, which forced many people to migrate from here,” he said. Referring to the temple of Vindhyavasini in the region, Modi said the Vindhya hills are a big centre of belief (vishvaas) and faith (aasthaa). He said the foundation laying of the projects is a moment of happiness for mothers, sisters and daughters. “This project is an example of Uttar Pradesh taking forward steps despite COVID-19,” the prime minister said. He also said that the projects will prove to be helpful for the health of the poor households and also help people who rear animals. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was present on the occasion. The projects will provide tap water connections in all rural households of 2,995 villages and will benefit about 42 lakh population of these districts. Village water and sanitation committees have been constituted in all these villages, and they will have the responsibility of operation and maintenance. The total estimated cost of the projects is Rs 5,555.38 crore. The projects are planned to be completed in 24 months under the ‘‘Jal Jeevan Mission’’ announced by the prime minister on 15 August last year. The projects aim at providing functional household tap connections to every rural house of the country by 2024.