Odisha Clubs Clean Water Supply In Urban Areas With Women Empowerment

Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday launched the Jalasathi programme by paying Rs 593 towards water cess for Naveen Niwas. He paid the amount using his Rupay Card.

Naveen also distributed water quality testing kits and POS (Point of Sale) machines to Jalasathis during the launch event at the Rail Auditorium in Mancheswar here.

“Clean water is essential of healthy life and involvement of woman volunteers from Mission Shakti in piped water supply will boost their economic empowerment. They will serve the people as Jalasathis,” Naveen said.

The Water Corporation of Odisha (WATCO) and women federations in Bhubaneswar also signed an MoU in this regard.

The porgramme, which will be implemented in eight wards of Bhubaneswar on a pilot basis under the 5T initiative of the Housing & Urban Development and the remaining wards and other urban areas of the state in the next phases, is expected to benefit around 70 lakh people, sources said.

THE PROGRAMME

Ensure supply of clean drinking water to consumers through piped water connection.

THE OBJECTIVE

Transfer the ward-level water distribution and consumer management to women SHG volunteers who will work as Jalasathis. They will act as a link between consumers and the Public Health Engineering Organisation (PHEO)/WATCO. They will also be responsible for field testing of water quality, facilitating new water connections, regularising connections, reassessment of demand, meter reading, bill generation, and bill deliver, collection of water charges and facilitating complaints redressal.