Uttar Pradesh added another feather to its cap by bagging the first prize in the ‘Best State Category’ of the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti’s National Water Awards 2020 on Friday.
This is the third edition of the award given for adopting a holistic approach towards water resources management in India. Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu bagged the second and third prizes respectively in the Best State (Normal) Category.
A total of 57 awards were announced in 11 categories, including best states, district, panchayat and best industries.
In 2018, National Water Awards were instituted to recognise and encourage exemplary work and efforts made by states, districts, individuals and organisations in attaining the government’s vision of a Jal Samridh Bharat across the country.
The award in the north zone district category this year was given to Muzaffarnagar of UP while Balua of Varanasi won the award for the ‘Best Village Panchayat–North Zone’.
Accomplishing the objective of effective abatement of pollution, conservation and rejuvenation of rivers, water quality in major rivers, including Ganga, has improved significantly in Uttar Pradesh. The UP government has set up 104 sewage treatment plants (STPs) of 3,298.84 MLD (million litres daily) capacities in the state.
With this, the streams of rivers have become uninterrupted and pure and drains culminating into the rivers have been tapped. Under Namani Gange, not only Ganga but the conditions of all major rivers, including Gomti, Saryu, Yamuna, Rapti, have improved due to intense cleanliness campaigns.
The Rural Water Supply Department of the UP government has completed preparations to connect more than 18 lakh families with water supply in the first phase of Har Ghar Nal Yojana under Jal Jeevan Mission and Union government’s Namami Gange programme.
Once the water supply is operational, millions of residents of hundreds of villages of Bundelkhand and Vindhyachal regions will get clean drinking water at their homes, reducing the risk of waterborne diseases that they have been exposed to in the past due to non-availability of safe potable water.