Prime Minister Narendra Modi, laid the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of Vindhyachal region of Uttar Pradesh today via video conference.

The Prime Minister also interacted with Village Water and Sanitation Committee/ Paani Samiti Members during the event. Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Governor Uttar Pradesh Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath were present on the occasion.

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The projects, for which the foundation stones were laid by the Prime Minister today will provide household 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/ Paani Samiti have been constituted in all these villages, who will shoulder 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.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said during the last one-and-half years from the start of Jal Jeevan Mission more than 2 crore 60 lakh families have been provided piped drinking water connection to their homes including lakhs of families in Uttar Pradesh as well.

He added under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the life of our mothers and sisters is getting easier due to easy water access at the comfort of their homes. He said a major benefit of this has also been a reduction of many diseases like cholera, typhoid, encephalitis caused by dirty water of the poor families.

The Prime Minister remarked when piped water reaches thousands of villages in Vindhyanchal the health of children of this region would be improved and their physical and mental development will be better.

The Prime Minister complimented the Uttar Pradesh Government for providing responsive governance during the time of pandemic and keeping the pace of reforms going. PM Modi outlined the development works in the region. He pointed to a provision of LPG cylinder, electricity supply, solar plant at Mirzapur, completion of irrigation projects and solar projects on uncultivable land to provide steady extra income to the farmers.