A month-long campaign has been launched in the Union Territory of Ladakh to inform village communities about the importance of clean water.

The campaign, known as ‘Pani Maah’, will run at block and panchayat level in two phases, from August 1 to August 14, and from August 16 to August 30.

“The campaign will adopt a three-pronged approach — focussing on water quality testing, planning and strategizing water supply, and seamless functioning of Pani Sabha in villages,” reads the official statement issued today on August 5. The campaign was launched on July 25 by Lieutenant Governor RK Mathur during a four-day workshop on the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in Ladakh.

As per the government data, only 11.75 per cent of rural households in Ladakh have access to tap water connections. The Pani Maah campaign is expected to expedite the implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission in the union territory.

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Testing of water quality

During this campaign, village communities will be encouraged to send water samples to water quality laboratories for quality checks and monitoring.

In the first phase of ‘Pani Maah’, water samples will be collected from all identified sources and service delivery points for testing. The first phase will also include awareness and sensitisation campaigns, informed the statement.

The second phase will focus on organising the Pani Sabhas/Gram Sabhas/Block level meetings and door to door visits for effective communication on water quality and service delivery under the Jal Jeevan Mission, a scheme of the Ministry of Jal Shakti launched in 2019 to provide safe piped drinking water to every rural household in the country by 2024.

Second phase of campaign

Meanwhile, during the second phase, the implementation of the scheme, water quality test reports and analysis will be discussed with the villagers in an open forum. “A village/ block-wise schedule has also been prepared for water sample collection and the Gram Sabhas to ensure maximum participation of villagers in the campaign,” reads the official statement.

The Ladakh government has also announced a reward of Rs 500,000 per village for the first five ‘Har Ghar Jal’ villages of each district in the Union Territory. In addition, Rs 2.5 million will be awarded to the first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ block in each district.

Two month back on June 5, the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti announced that Ladakh will achieve ‘Har Ghar Jal’ status by 2022, two years before the national target of 2024.

Also Read: Punjab, Haryana, Himachal, J&K and Ladakh to get tap water connection by 2022