November 07 , 2023
“Water for Women, Women for Water” campaign was organized under the flagship scheme of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation by the Department of Urban Development , Himachal Pradesh, Shimla on a unique initiative of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, Government of India. This campaign is being celebrated as “Jal Diwali” from 7-9 November , 2023 in partnership with Amrit Yojana and National Urban Livelihood Mission.
The objective of this campaign is to provide a platform to women from Self Help Groups ( SHGs) by involving them in water governance. They are to be given first-hand knowledge about water treatment and testing processes by taking visits to Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) in their respective cities and made aware of the important processes involved in providing clean and safe drinking water to households .
With the help of Jal Shakti Department, 15 Water Treatment Plants ( WTPs) sites were identified at different locations , out of which Self Help Groups of Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) visited 13 Water Treatment Plants (WTPs) on 07-November-2023. The treatment was carried out at plant sites. And 02 sites are to be visited on 08-November-2023. The names of the water treatment plant sites visited by the Self Help Groups of Urban Local Bodies on 07-November-2023 are as follows:- Chamba , Bhota , Hamirpur , Dharamshala , Palampur , Kullu , Manali , Jogindernagar , Mandi , Shimla , Theog , Arki and Solan. The visit to the remaining two sites Ghumarwin and Naina Devi will be completed on 08-November-2023.
A total of 364 Self Help Group members visited 13 water treatment plant sites on 07- November – 2023 . During the visit, the concerned site engineers of Jal Shakti Department apprised them about the various processes involved in supplying clean and safe drinking water to the households.
The tour was conducted under the guidance of Commissioners of Municipal Corporations and Executive Officers/Secretaries of various Municipalities and Executive Engineers of Jal Shakti Department and Shimla Water Management Corporation Limited. This event was made successful with the participation of CMMU and Community Organizer ( CO) working under National Urban Livelihood Mission/AMRUT Yojana at the regional level.
The outcome of the campaign is awareness , knowledge , sense of ownership , responsibility , empowerment of SHGs on water treatment , positive community impact and scaling up of this model for future initiatives.
