Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu today underlined the importance of basic amenities like safe drinking water and sanitation in preventing diseases and contributing towards the overall well-being of people.

He cautioned that with the flattening of Covid pandemic curve, people should not lower their guard and continue with the practice of washing hands frequently.

Addressing the National WASH Conclave-2022 today after inaugurating it virtually from Raj Bhavan, Chennai, the Vice President said that children should grow up in an environment that is healthy – physically and emotionally. For this, he wanted preventive healthcare measures such as safe water, sanitation and hygienic practices to begin from anganwadis and primary schools.

The three-day virtual Conclave on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) is being organised by the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad in association with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, UNICEF and other development partners. The Conclave is focusing on ‘advancing water, sanitation and hygiene at Panchayats’.

Observing that taking forward WASH agenda to Gram Panchayats is critical as they are at the core of rural water supply, Naidu stressed the need to ensure institutional strengthening of the Panchayats for effective service delivery to the last mile. “This is a key aspect of governance which I always emphasise—efficient last-mile delivery of services in every field— holds the key to fast-tracking all-around development,” he added.

The Vice President further stated that as a nation, it was necessary to ensure that every household gets all the basic facilities – the most essential of them being WASH-related. Recognising that providing safe drinking water and sanitation to every rural household is a massive task, Naidu said that “this can be realised only if a vast array of players join hands with singular focus and determination.”

With rural water supply networks getting expanded across the country, he noted, there is bound to be a positive spinoff. “There will be a huge demand for plumbers, electricians, people trained in the chlorination of water,” he said and called for learning from Scandinavian countries where local governments follow hub-and-spokes models to meet the requirement of skilled manpower to attend to any breakdown and maintenance work.

Calling the adequate amount of safe drinking water for every rural household as a basic necessity, Naidu said that India is making considerable progress in this regard. He called for further fast-tracking and bestowing greater attention to all aspects relating to WASH facilities in both rural and urban areas.

Appreciating the initiatives by the Government and NGOs involved in the WASH campaign, he said, “The progress we make in this sector has a cascading impact on many other development indicators.”