To provide functional tap connections to each household, the Union Territory of Ladakh in general and the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department in particular, has been at the forefront to provide drinking water to people through Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), a Government of India scheme.

The hamlet of Chay Chay Thang in Kanoor village of district Kargil had no supply of pure drinking water. Nor, it had any water pipeline connection at their houses.

As a result of Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), life is being transformed in the village and all the households are connected with the water pipeline which was a dream for them.

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Through JJM, the administration has resolved to provide safe, adequate drinking water through individual tap connections even in sub-zero temperatures by 2022 in rural Ladakh.

The village used to face water crisis for decades which was acute in winter months. The relief come for the people after launch of the JJM scheme in August 2019.

Now, the residents of the village don’t have to travel long distances to fetch water and have a water supply at their doorsteps ending their long pending worries.

“We were relying on water tankers that supplied water and we would take it in small cans to the houses. The water tank would get freeze in winter seasons,” said Fatima Banoo, a woman from the village.

“Now, under the JJJM, water pipeline has reached to the premises of our houses and it has come as a relief for the people,” said Sarpanch Kanoor, Muhammad Habib.

As there is no source of stream water, the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department Kargil has made a submersible pump functional where from the water is lifted in the Service Reservoir and is supplied to the households.

AEE, PHE Kargil, Mohammad Rafiq said the Service Reservoir is built underground to make it freezing resistant during winter months.

“The submersible pump is also placed under a small structure developed with a systematic technique to avoid freezing,” he said.

To keep the structure compatible with local architecture, the pump house has been decorated with ethnic architecture. The insulated pipe is also in process of procurement that will protect the water from freezing at open places.

Haji Abdullah, 72, from Chay Chay Thang said they had no source of pure drinking water in the village but thanks to the JJM under which pure water is being provided to all households in the village.

“The life is much easier for us now. I would like to thank the UT Administration, District Administration and PHE Department for their tremendous work,” he said.

The AEE said that the Service Reservoir at Chay Chay Thang has a capacity of 8500 gallons that is enough to cover the projected population of the next 30 years.

He also showed similar pump stations and service reservoirs developing at proper Minji and Minji Gound while at Gramthang the project has almost completed.

To ensure “Har Ghar Jal” (water to every household), the PHE Department Kargil has adopted various models depending on the source of water in the village.

Giving preference to stream water, the department has been developing projects to supply clean, safe and fresh water. In absence of stream water, electric water lifting pumps from river level to the village is being installed. In villages with no stream water and far from river bed are providing submersible pumps.

“I thank PM Modi, UT Administration and Secretary PHE Ladakh Ajeet Kumar Sahu and the staff of PHE Department. I also thank workers for their tireless efforts that has ensured water supply to all households of my village,” said Sarpanch Goma Minji, who was monitoring the executing agency of the PHE digging a submersible pump at his village.

On a similar pattern, the PHE Department is working on war footing basis to cover all the 125 villages of Kargil district.

Among them, eight villages have been completed so far. The 125 villages of District Kargil comprise 19,287 households out of which 6,884 households have been connected with water pipelines which makes it 35.69 percent.

As many villages have only small works left which are likely to be completed and more villages are about to get ‘Har Ghar Jal’ status very soon.