Our Correspondent
Kohima | March 16
Joining the rest of the country, the Public Health Engineering department today launched National Rural Drinking Water & Sanitation Awareness week here.
Launching this awareness week which will culminate on March 22, PHED minister Tokheho Yepthomi said the main purpose of the National Rural Drinking Water and Sanitation Awareness Week is to create spread awareness and responsibilities among the community on water and sanitation which affect the lives of millions of people in the country and across the world as population increases and water resources dwindle.
“It has to keep in mind that creation of water and sanitation facilities alone are not enough unless people are well informed and educated on proper usage and maintenance of such assets, and conservation of water in our day to day lives,” he said.
The minister said that water week is of great importance because it creates the opportunity to engage in a series of two-way interaction with the villagers in terms of surreys and helps the administration better understand the challenges that face in the process of their exercise for providing universal access to drinking water.
He expressed happiness that the state government implements drinking water supply and sanitation schemes under NRDWP and Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin) respectively.
Yepthomi said providing water and sanitation facilities to all villages and habitations in the state and making the suitable is not an easy task, considering our lack of sufficient financial resources, in spite of grants from Government of India, and also the state population having a comparatively high level of literacy and awareness.
“However, what we need to do is to optimize all our available financial and human resources, and incorporate an environment friendly and cost effective techniques and designs while aiming to achieve the National Goal an Timelines on water and sanitation,” he said.
He said that as we join the country in this awareness campaign, carrying out various activities for education and community, the minister hoped that the officers of the department and all stakeholders taking part in the campaign will do their best to make this campaign a grand success and thereby meet its objectives.
Yepthomi was also hopeful that the activities during the awareness would immensely benefit the people of the state “so as to make them better prepared for achieving the goal.”
He also assured that the state government under the chief ministership of Chief Minister T.R. Zeliang will do its best to provide safe and adequate drinking water to its citizens, and also try our best to achieve total sanitation, the goal of “Swachh Bharat’ by 2019.
Parliamentary secretary for information & public relations Khekaho Assumi lauded the PHED for doing well as of late. He asked the department to stress more on traditional water system like traditional well.
He also urged the department to tie-up with forest department for afforestation in the catchment areas to increase water supply.
Anenla S. Longchari, secretary PHED, Government of Nagaland said the awareness week will create awareness on Swachh Bharat Mission to keep villages clean, build and use toilets, importance of hand washing with soap, safe handling and storage of drinking water, water conservation etc.
Appealing each and every individual to involve in the campaign, she said “Be ambassador for a Swachh Nagaland, a clean Nagaland. Be part of the movement to create awareness in Nagaland- because your dream city starts with a clean city and healthy Nagaland starts with safe, clean water.”
PHED chief engineer Er Kevisekho Kruse said to make safe drinking water and sanitation available on a sustainable basis, we need to involve the water user community and create awareness, educating and organizing them to have discipline apart from constructing infrastructure.
He said the weeklong campaign will witness WATSAN role in cleaning all water sources and to test for quality of water, PRA exercise to be carried out in 18 villages in all districts, painting and school essay competition, to make a short documentary on all activities of the campaign and to report to directorate office.
Nagaland Legislative Assembly (NLA) deputy speaker Imtikumzuk and parliamentary secretary for art & culture E. Eshak Konyak also present on the occasion.
The function concluded with vote of thanks by Er. K. Ghushito Sumi, director WSSO, PHED.
