Women are at the forefront of the drinking water initiative of the government in the state.
Women are at the forefront of the drinking water initiative of the government in the state.
As per the estimates of the Sample Registration Survey (SRS), 2019, the infant mortality rate in Bihar has been recorded as 29 deaths per 1,000 live births, which is three points lower than the 2018 estimates and one point better than the national average. Is. 30 deaths per 1,000 live births. Similarly, according to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) estimates, the mortality rate for children under 5 is 56.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.
While this success indicates better maternal and child health services in the state, it also indicates better availability of other public health services such as safe water, sanitation and hygiene.
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Bihar has been able to provide tap water to 1.56 crore households out of the targeted 1.72 crore rural households. This is a remarkable achievement considering the low coverage of 3% in the last five years with which the state started. Bihar has provided the highest number of tap connections among all the states of India in the last few years.
This significant achievement was made possible due to strong political leadership, which resulted in the implementation of the state government’s scheme, Mukhyamantri Drinking Water Nischay Yojana, which was launched as a part of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s seven resolutions to ensure good governance. Structural changes were introduced in program implementation to split the responsibility of water provision between the Department of Public Health Engineering and the Department of Panchayati Raj. The state government has also promised a better service benchmark of 70 liters per person per day by harnessing the available groundwater.
A sustainable source of water is an important determinant of the success of safe water plans. In order to ensure sustainability of the source, the State Government of Bihar has launched Jal-Jeevan-Hariyali Mission for groundwater recharge and its efficient through cropping pattern, irrigation methods, large-scale plantation and revival of traditional water harvesting and recharge structures. is used.
The theme of this year’s World Water Day is “Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible”. Making groundwater visible requires a decentralized effort, working with community structures. Concerted efforts are needed to make it visible to groundwater, the main source of domestic use and agriculture in the state. Adolescents and youth groups in the community can be involved in educating community members on groundwater availability, its optimum use and the operation of climate-focused water budgets.
Over the past decade, the state government of Bihar has been experimenting with remarkable success in implementing various initiatives that allow women to come forward for democratic dialogue in water provision. The government has made a provision to include at least three women members in the ward level committees constituted for the management of ward level piped water schemes in 1,14,691 rural wards of the state.
Today, there are over three lakh women who are part of these committees. In addition, more than 25,000 women are also working as pump operators, especially in areas where the implementation is done by the Ward Implementation and Management Committee (WIMC). These women are taking forward the story of great change in drinking water in the state.
Nafisa Binte Shafiq is the CFO for Bihar, UNICEF Office