The problem of pure drinking water is ending, Jal Jeevan Mission has reached every village

Dantewada: Dantewada district is an aspiring district of Chhattisgarh state. Which is backward compared to other plain areas. Mainly tribals reside here, which include Scheduled Tribe and Scheduled Caste categories. The main source of income of most of the residents of the district is agriculture. These residents depend on forest wealth such as Mahua, Tamarind, Mango, Tendu leaves, Bas, Tora, seasonal vegetables, wild tubers, fruits, various types of mushrooms etc. Here mainly farming is the main source of income for the villagers. But apart from all this, some interior villages of South Bastar Dantewada are affected by Maoism, due to which many schemes of the government are not able to reach completely. Similarly, there is a village affected by Maoism, after understanding the utility of Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana and the importance of pure drinking water, the villagers here have come forward and cooperated in the implementation of the scheme and got the Jal Jeevan Mission scheme completed 100 percent. In this sequence, Barrem village, dependent on the most sensitive Gram Panchayat Rewali of the development block Kuakonda of the district, is about 49 km from the district headquarters and 9 km from the main road. It is located inside the village and can be reached through a road made of gravel. Being a highly sensitive and Naxal-affected area, Barrem village is still backward in terms of mentality, lifestyle and development. The villagers do not talk much to outsiders or if they insist, they give a straight and simple answer and leave. Due to not being able to avail the expected benefits from the schemes, there was already a huge problem of drinking water in the village. The villagers here were dependent on hand pumps, Jhiriya and Chuna for drinking water. If the hand pump was not working, they used to use the water of Chuna located 2 to 3 km away from the house for drinking. Women and children used to take about 6 hours to collect drinking water. Due to this, women could not take out time for other works and child care and children also did not go to school. In case of ill health, the people of Barrem village have to go to the health center of village Sameli, about 9 km away. At present, there are a total of 03 settlements in the village, Nayapara, Patel Para, Schoolpara. The total number of houses in this village is 34 and the population is 151, in which the total number of men is 56 and the total number of women is 66, the number of children is 29. There were 03 hand pumps for drinking water in the village,There was 1 well and 02 solar. Traditionally, rural women used to filter drinking water through a cloth sieve and store it in pots, etc. and use it for cooking and drinking as per requirement. The villagers here used to measure the purity of drinking water by looking at the turbidity of the water. If we talk about the problems here, the children of village Barrem did not go to school to do household chores and take care of their younger siblings. The women’s self-help group of the village was formed, but due to lack of time, they were not able to work in a group to improve their economic life nor could they take care of their health. Therefore, when the villagers of village Barrem got information about the scheme in the public meeting under the Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana, then the villagers understood that a good life and the future of children lies in the development of the village. In this way, the villagers came forward and started cooperating according to their capacity to bring the scheme to the village and implement it. Presently, to solve the above mentioned drinking water problem of village Barrem, under the announcement of Jal Jeevan Mission made by the Hon’ble Prime Minister  Narendra Modi on 15th August 2019, the work has been completed in the village. The main objective of Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana in the village is to provide continuous pure drinking water to all the houses. Every person is getting the benefit of pure drinking water of 55 liters per day through each connection. With this GI structure, 12 meter staging, the villagers are getting continuous pure drinking water in the courtyard of the house and at the same time, they are earning economic income from vegetable garden through waste water management. With the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana by the Public Health Engineering Department, children studying in 02 government schools and 01 Anganwadi in the village are getting drinking water for mid-day meal. Here, water is being supplied from a total of 02 nos., 6 meter staging solar and 1 GI 12 meter staging solar, 02 tanks of 5000 liters each and 90 GV 6 kg. cm. 2 UPVC pipe -100 m, HDPE pipe 63 mm. 1614 GV pipe line has been extended to provide water to all 34 houses and government buildings in the village.

After the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana, people here have become aware of the purity of clean water, good health and storage and maintenance of clean water after participating in the awareness program by organizing Jal Sabha. Budri Barse, a rural woman of village Barrem, who is also a member of the women’s self-help group, says that earlier we people of the village were dependent on the drain and distant Jharia for drinking water. I too used to bring 8-10 gundis of water from the hand pump in the morning and evening. Due to which I was not able to pay attention to the children and I was not able to give time to work in the women’s self-help group. Due to lack of water in the house, we had to go outside to the hand pump, solar for toilet, bathing, washing clothes, where there was a crowd of other women too. It used to be afternoon while waiting for our turn to get water, then the household work would end. Due to relatives coming to festivals and fairs, we had to fill water from outside in the morning and evening. But now due to installation of taps in houses under Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana, we get water on time. I am very happy that now by working in the self-help group, I can increase the household income and provide good education and upbringing to my children. Similarly, Kumari Kosi, who works as a Balmitra in the village, says that she inspects a total of 04 schools in Rewali Panchayat and Village Barrem. Before Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana, the attendance of children, especially girls, was low in the schools in Gram Panchayat Rewali. Because most of the girls go to do household work and to fetch water in the fields. But now after installation of taps under Jal Jeevan Mission, the attendance of children remains adequate.

Further, Mrs. Ludri Nag, Anganwadi worker of village Bareng, tells that now all the women of the village are very happy. Because the children reach Anganwadi and school ready on time. We have been given FTK from the drinking water department with which we test the pH, iron, chlorine and bacteria of water. Earlier, the villagers considered clean water to mean only visually clean water, but with the advent of Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana, through the field test kit, it was understood what pure drinking water is. Now all the villagers are drinking tap water. We are getting a lot of benefits from the scheme. For this, we thank the government very much.

Sarpanch of Barrem village, Smt. Deve Barse also says that- Due to the benefits of Jal Jeevan Mission Yojana, clean water is available in the courtyard of every house and the women of the village are improving their economic life by sending their children to school on time, working in women self-help groups, collecting forest products such as tendu leaves, mahua, tora, tamarind etc., vegetable garden, farming, labor work etc. In this way, the stream of Jal Jeevan Mission has made the villagers of the highly sensitive village Barrem prosperous by changing their behavior to welcome other government schemes along with education, health, self-reliance.