PM launches Atal Bhujal Yojana

On the occasion of India’s former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, prime minister Narendra Modi launched the Atal Bhujal Yojana and talked about the Rohtang tunnel. The Rohtang tunnel is a strategic tunnel connecting Manali, Himachal Pradesh with Leh, Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir and will be known as Atal tunnel. Speaking of launching the yojana and the atal tunnel, which is nearing its completion, Modi said, the subject of water is very important to Atal Ji and close to his heart. And his government is trying to make his dream a success. He mentioned how Atal ji wanted every household in the country to have access to drinking water. He said that the atal tunnel will improve the conditions of the region and also promote tourism. The historic decision to construct this tunnel was taken by our former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the tunnel which is 8.8 km long is the world’s longest tunnel with above an altitude of 3000 metres. It is said that It will reduce the distance between Manali and Leh by 46 kilometers and save crores of rupees in transport costs.  It is a 10.5-meter wide single tube bi-lane tunnel with a fireproof emergency tunnel built into the main tunnel itself. The breakthrough from both ends was achieved on October 15, 2017. The tunnel is now nearing completion and is a step in the direction of providing all-weather connectivity to remote border areas of Himachal Pradesh and Ladakh which otherwise remained cut off from the rest of the country for about six months during winters. 

Speaking of the Atal Bhujal yojana, he said that the Jal Shakti ministry lays stress on a comprehensive and holistic approach and actively involves the panchayats in its guidelines and rules. Providing water to every household in the country has been one of the agendas of the government and they want to implement and make sure it reaches everyone by 2024. He said that the water crisis is a very big problem and also hinders a country’s way of progress and development. He spoke of how the Jal shakti ministry has made efforts this year to conserve water during the monsoons. He said that on one hand, Jal Jeevan Mission, will work towards delivering piped water supply to every house, and on the other hand Atal Jal Yojana, will pay special attention to those areas where groundwater is very low. 

He requested the people of every village to make a water action plan and create a water fund. Farmers should make a water budget where groundwater is very low. ATAL JAL has been designed with the principal objective of strengthening the institutional framework for participatory groundwater management and bringing about behavioral changes at the community level for sustainable groundwater resource management in seven States, viz. Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh.

source: PIB, PMO