Dikhyaa Mohanty 
Since the launch of the ‘Jal Jeevan Mission’, the government has provided a drinking water supply to a 5.5 crore household despite the Covid-19 pandemic as informed by the union Jal Shakti minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
According to the official reports, while addressing the 5th ISC-FICCI Sanitation Awards and India Sanitation Conclave, Singh stated that a total of 8.5 crore households have a drinking water supply at their home now. He further added that in 70 years, just 17 per cent households had tap water facilities but despite all odds of Covid, they have provided additional water to 27 per cent of households and in absolute numbers, the three crore households where water reached now that number has risen to 8.5 crores. Now 5.5 crore household women have gotten rid of the curse. The Jal Jeevan Mission is being implemented keeping women at the centre stage.
He further added that the 73rd amendment of the Constitution says that all these programmes must be community-owned and they implemented all the programmes keeping women at the centre. During this Covid period, they have trained 7.5 lakh women and gave field testing kits to them to ensure that quality water is delivered to them.
He then added that the work has started to develop a water protocol in India and across the country, they are working on establishing water quality testing laboratories in each district and 2,000 such laboratories have been established and in the next one year further 6,000 laboratories will be built up
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