People of Tharu community living in Bankati village of the most backward Shravasti district of Uttar Pradesh bordering Nepal had not imagined that one day they would join the developmental journey of the state free from water-borne diseases.

Today, the state government headed by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath made it possible by working tirelessly to provide potable water to the people under Jal Jeevan Mission and Har Ghar Nal scheme, claimed district officials here on Monday.

This has not only rid the village of water-borne diseases, which were common due to non-availability of pure drinking water, but has also provided a large number of women and girls an opportunity to earn their living and become self reliant through Field Test Kit (FTK) training, for testing water quality.

It is worth mentioning here that Shravasti suffers from high levels of arsenic, fluoride and iron content as well as contamination of water. The women and girls receiving the FTK training check the quality of water on the basis of 12 parameters after reaching the sources of water. The test takes place after every 10 days.

The Tharu women and girls are also engaged in raising general awareness of the community about the importance of consumption of clean water along with bringing the winds of positive change to the village. Monika Rana, Nirma, Sumalana and Shankita are some of the Tharu women who have received FTK training and are engaged in testing the quality of water on a regular basis while raising people’s awareness about water-related issues. They are also moving towards self-reliance with this training.

The Tharu women were deprived of their rights for a long. Jal Jeevan Mission is improving the lives of the Tharu tribe in general and their women in particular. With the efforts of the Yogi Government, the fortune of the Tharu tribe is changing with Namami Gange and the Har Ghar Jal Yojana of the Rural Water Supply Department.

Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the Har Ghar Jal scheme is ensuring supply of clean water to the people of the community while efforts are on to rid the villages of contaminated water, water-borne diseases and water crisis. There are 765 Tharu tribes living in Bankati village of Bhachkohi Gram Panchayat of Shravasti. There are a total of 116 households.