Modi govt's push to women employment: Jobs through drinking water projects

The government would implement across the country the Uttarkashi model of creating employment through a drinking water and a waste management project, Union minister Uma Bharti said.

After visiting Uttarakhand's Uttarkashi town for the launch of drinking water project 'Swajal' and the waste management project under the Swacch Bharat Mission, she decided to apply the model implemented there to other parts of the country to generate employment.

"Swajal and the waste management project in this small village in Uttarkashi has provided employment to the women of that area. From laying water pipes to bringing drinking water for every household, to cultivating cash crops along water channels, helped them to earn money. ODF and waste management has generated employment. We are trying to implement the same in other states too," the minister for drinking water and sanitation told PTI.

The government has decided to launch the drinking water and sanitation project on a pilot basis in five states, including Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Maharashtra, said Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation Director Yugal Kishore.

'Swajal' was first launched in 1996-97 in a small village called Saadag, which was a part of Uttar Pradesh in those days.

The drinking water and sanitation project was run and maintained by the village and it helped generate employment.

The women involved dig the ground to lay down pipes, connecting every house with drinking water, and also cultivated cash crops along water channels, helping them earn money.

Under the project, they also collect biodegradable waste from houses to make compost manure and purify the kitchen waste water for field use.

With the second phase of ODF along with waste management, the government now plans to replicate the same model of the small village of Uttarkashi in all over the country.

A committee had been constituted under the chairmanship of Uttarakhand Drinking Water and Sanitation minister Prakash Pant to study the model and implement it in other states.