Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday laid the foundation stone for the water supply project in Manipur through video conferencing saying it as a Raksha Bandhan gift for the women.
"This project will give clean drinking water to Greater Imphal and 1,700 villages in Manipur. It will provide a lifeline to these people," PM Mod said. He added that it will help women in as many as one lakh families in the state,
Laying the foundation stone, the prime minister said that the project has been designed with the help of local panchayats and people living here, which he said is a "fine example of decentralization".
"The Manipur Water Supply project will also generate employment for thousands of people," PM Modi said. He also highlighted the fact that work to lay the pipelines was continuing even during the Covid-19 lockdown.
"The country did not stop due to Covid-19," he said.
He also listed the scheme implemented by the Centre to help Manipur and various states during the coronavirus crisis.
He further stated that the Northeast is battling twin challenges – Covid-19 and flood. Many people have to leave their homes due to the flood. I assure you that everyone is with you in this difficult time, said the prime minister.
The fund for the project has been provided by the Centre under 'Jal Jeevan Mission' to provide freshwater household tap connections (FHTCs) to 1,185 habitations with 1,42,749 households.
The Manipur Water Supply project, an externally funded project, was designed to provide FHTCs to remaining households in the Greater Imphal Planning area, 25 towns, and for 1,731 rural habitations covering 2,80,756 households in 16 districts of Manipur.
The project is an important component of the efforts of the state government to achieve the goal of 'Har Ghar Jal' by 2024. The project outlay is about Rs 3054.58 crore with a loan component funded by the New Development Bank.
