Addressing the National WASH Conclave-2022 after inaugurating it virtually from Chennai, the vice president said children should grow up in an environment that is healthy –- physically and emotionally.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Wednesday underlined the importance of basic amenities such as safe drinking water and sanitation in preventing diseases and contributing towards the overall well-being of people.
He also cautioned that with the flattening of COVID-19 pandemic curve, people should not lower their guard and continue with the practice of washing hands frequently.
Addressing the National WASH Conclave-2022 after inaugurating it virtually from Chennai, the vice president said children should grow up in an environment that is healthy –- physically and emotionally.
For this, he wanted preventive healthcare measures such as safe water, sanitation and hygienic practices to begin from anganwadis and primary schools, an official statement from the Vice President Secretariat said.
The three-day virtual conclave on Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) is being organised by the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), Hyderabad, in association with the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, UNICEF and other development partners.
The conclave is focusing on ‘advancing water, sanitation and hygiene at panchayats’.
Observing that taking forward WASH agenda to the gram panchayats is critical as they are at the core of rural water supply, Naidu stressed the need to ensure institutional strengthening of panchayats for effective service delivery to the last mile.
“This is a key aspect of governance which I always emphasise — efficient last mile delivery of services in every field — holds the key to fast-tracking all-round development,” he asserted.
The vice president said that as a nation, we need to ensure that every household gets all the basic facilities -– the most essential of them being WASH related.
Recognising that providing safe drinking water and sanitation to every rural household is a massive task, Naidu said this can be realised only if a vast array of players join hands with “singular focus and determination.” With rural water supply networks getting expanded across the country, Naidu noted that there is bound to be a positive spinoff.
“There will be a huge demand for plumbers, electricians, people trained in chlorination of water,” he said and called for learning from Scandinavian countries where local governments follow hub-and-spokes models to meet the requirement of skilled manpower to attend to any breakdown and maintenance work.