Days after launching special projects in Varanasi constituency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday laid the foundation stone of rural drinking water supply projects in Mirzapur and Sonbhadra districts of Vindhyachal region of Uttar Pradesh today via video conference. ALSO READ | Former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi Health Critical, On Ventilator After Battle With Covid-19


Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel were present on the occasion.

The project worth Rs 5,555.38 crore aims to provide household tap water connections in all rural households of 2,995 villages and will benefit about 42 lakh population of these districts. The projects are planned to be completed in 24 months.

Speaking on the occasion, the Prime Minister said during the last one and half years from the start of Jal Jeevan Mission more than 2 crore 60 lakh families have been provided piped drinking water connection to their homes including lakhs of families in Uttar Pradesh as well.

"Under the Jal Jeevan Mission, the life of our mothers and sisters is getting easier due to easy water access at the comfort of their homes. He said a major benefit of this has also been reduction of many diseases like cholera, typhoid, encephalitis caused by dirty water of the poor families," PM Modi added, as stated in a press statement by the government.

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The Prime Minister remarked when piped water reaches thousands of villages in Vindhyanchal the health of children of this region would be improved and their physical and mental development will be better.

He said when one gets freedom to take decisions and work on those decisions for the development of your village, it increases the confidence of everyone in the village. He added that self-reliant India gets strength from self-reliant villages.