Page 37 - Tata-Trusts-Annual-Report-2022-23
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Water at the doorstep –
                            Now a reality in Nagaland
                                                                                                                               EMPOWERMENT

                                                   ‘Har Ghar Jal’ comes to life.


                          In rural India, millions of girls and women are known to walk   e ective operation and maintenance of water supply systems
                          miles to fetch more than 10 litres of water for their daily   in a sustainable manner. The organisation encourages
                          domestic needs. This arduous task is relegated to the women   community members to play an active role after the
                          in the house and requires significant physical e ort and time.   installation of water supply systems in
                          In Nagaland, the Government of India’s Jal Jeevan Mission   the village.
                          and Tata Trusts’ associate organisation North East Initiative
                          Development Agency (NEIDA) worked together to change        Khurenshe, a member of the Water and Sanitation (WATSAN)
                          the lives of the community.                                 Committee mentions, “Earlier, the meetings used to be of no
                                                                                                  use. But now all members, including women,
                          Tsasushi (78) and her husband Ahose                                         attend the meeting and engage in planning,
                          (84) live in the quaint village of                                          implementation and monitoring related to
                          Vongva in Nagaland. Perched on                                              water and sanitation. With training imparted
                          the hilltop and inhabited by the                                            by NEIDA on the roles and responsibilities
                          Yimchunger Tribe, Tsasushi and                                              of the committees—WATSAN, water
                          Ahose now live a joyful life. But it                                        conservation and water quality, the
                          wasn’t so up until a few months ago.                                        importance of women’s participation, etc.
                          The responsibility of fetching water                                        We have been collectively working with the
                          rested on Tsasushi. She found it                                            Village Council to ensure that our
                          extremely di cult to scale the steep                                        community people have access to
                          slopes every day with vessels carrying                                      functional household taps.”
                          nearly 15-20 litres of water. This left her
                          exhausted especially due to her age                                         The Village Council Chairman Yesukiu said
                          and health.                                                                  that “Households contributed a minimum
                                                                                                       of 5% as community contribution either in
                          NEIDA’s intervention in her village,                                         kind (locally available resources such as
                          where it executed the government’s Jal                                        bamboo, boulders, food, etc.) or in the
                          Jeevan Mission and facilitated in                                             form of labour. Moreover, a nominal
                          creation of a water supply system from                                         amount of `20 as a water service fee
                          a nearby spring, helped bring water                                            was also paid by each and every
                          right outside Tsasushi’s home. Her                                             household; besides, all the villagers
                          happiness knew no bounds. No more                                           participated to ensure Har Ghar Jal.”
                          climbing steep slopes and getting tired
                          from walking for miles after toiling for the whole day in the   With access to water closer to home, the villagers of Vongva
                          fields. “My dream of getting water at my doorstep is finally   are jubilant, including Tsasushi and Ahose.
                          fulfilled through the Jal Jeevan Mission. It was tiresome
                          walking on the steep slope after a long day working in the
                          fields, especially when my legs were not strong anymore.”

                          NEIDA strengthens the Village Water and Sanitation
                          Committee to plan, execute and maintain the water supply
                          systems built under Jal Jeevan Mission. It develops robust
                          community-led institutional mechanisms to ensure the



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