By Abishkar Upadhya
Leh: Central Goverment’s ambitious Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) scheme has brought a sea-change in the lives of the inhabitants of Ladakh.
Umla, a remote village in Leh district is getting water supply even in winters. And, this thing has been made possible by active participation of pani samiti and community with support of JJM Leh team by using greenhouse technique which has helped in ensuring water supply to people of Umla in extreme winters
Like Umla, people of other villages are also getting water and that too with ease, thanks to community led innovations under JJM scheme.
Umla witnessed an innovation in the form of greenhouse structure which protects the spring source from freezing. The greenhouse maintains the temperature of spring source above the freezing point and ensures supply of drinking water in extreme cold season.
The success of Umla is being replicated in other villages also.
District Magistrate Leh, Shrikant Balasaheb Suse, who is also chairman of District Water & Sanitation Mission (DWSM), informed that under JJM several such innovative methods have been adopted to ensure continuous piped water supply to households in rural areas.
“It was observed that springs are the main sources of water and they freeze at the source itself. So, we decided to install greenhouse around spring source to keep it warm. This technique worked and water source didn’t freeze so far and we are now able to maintain water supply in winters as well,” he explained.
He, however, credited the success of this idea to the team work of Pani Samiti and PHE Ladakh officials who work with missionary zeal to make round the year tap water supply a reality.
The villagers have expressed gratitude to the district administration for making their lives easy in the ongoing winters.
