Jashpur (Chhattisgarh) [India], August 4 (ANI): Covering several kilometres to fetch clean drinking water was the routine of earlier days for the population at Kujri, a village surrounded by forest and hills in tribal-dominated Jashpur district of Chhattisgarh, before the Jal Jeevan Mission came as a boon to them.

Kujri is a village located around 15 to 17 kilometres from Jashpur district and close to the border of the neighbouring state of Jharkhand. Earlier, the villagers had to rely on borewells for drinking water, but whenever they failed, the people had to cover several kilometres to fetch water from the River Lava.

Although the government had installed hand-pumps in the village, these water sources would dry up during summer due to a decline in water level.

Defying this challenging scenario, Jal Jeevan Mission came as a major relief to the people of village Kujri under Bumtel Panchayat of Manora development block. Under this programme of the government has installed two solar-powered tanks of 10,000 litres each in the village, and villagers have access to clean drinking water round the clock, even without electricity.

With the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission, women no longer have to carry pots and cover long distances in quest of potable water.

'The village is located in a remote hilly area, and since the entire Manora block is a plateau region, some materials have to be head-loaded to reach there. Despite that, the implementing agency has created a solar-based system. We are now supplying water to about 56 homes. The tanks installed there have solar panels, which means villagers don't have to pay any electricity bills,' said Executive Engineer S B Singh.

'The panchayat operates it as needed. Since groundwater isn't very successful in plateau areas, these villages used to face hygiene issues and seasonal illnesses during the rains. With clean water now available, the number of diarrhea and other diseases has significantly dropped,' he added.

The arrival of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Manora and Bagicha blocks is ensuring clean drinking water via pipelines to as many households as possible, he added.

'Thanks to the tap connections provided under the Jal Jeevan Mission and the installation of water tanks, we have gotten great relief. Earlier, we had to go far for clean water, and it was very troublesome. Now, with taps installed, there's no issue -- clean water is available at home, and drinking water is no longer a problem. Women who used to walk far for water now get clean water just by turning on the tap,' said a local, Satish Kumar Bhagat.

'There used to be a serious water problem here, and borewells often stopped working due to poor sources or pipe bursts. Since the taps have been installed, we no longer have any water problems.Our village falls under Jashpur district and is surrounded by forests and hills, said villager Birbal Bhagat, elaborating that earlier we used to face a lot of water problems,' said villager Rajendra Prasad Bhagat.

'There are about 70 houses in the village. Earlier, we had to go far and drink dirty water. Women had to walk long distances to fetch water. Now, under the government scheme, everyone is getting clean water at home. People are satisfied, and there's no more need to go far for water,' he added. (ANI)