Rajgir / Gaya: Calling it pathbreaking, a marvel of engineering, avant-garde and outcome of Himalayan resolve of Bihar Government, CM Nitish Kumar on November 27, 2022 inaugurated the Ganga Jal Aapurti Yojana, an ambitious scheme that will ensure uninterrupted drinking water supply in tourist cities of Rajgir, Bodh Gaya and Gaya.

“It is one of the most gratifying days of my life as I see my dream of Har Ghar Ganga Jal becoming a reality with this first-of-its-kind project, completed in record time,” said Kumar while inaugurating this unique project Rajgir. He launched the Gaya and Bodh Gaya plants on November 28.

The novelty of the scheme lies in the fact that floodwater from Ganga is being lifted, transported in a special pipeline to 151 kms, stored in huge reservoirs, treated in state-of-art water treatment plant, and then supplied as potable water to households and institutions in these cities. 

“CM Nitish Kumar is a global visionary, and thinks ahead of time. Who else would have thought of converting floodwater into drinking water. Clean water has always been CM’s priority. His grand vision of Har Ghar Nal Ka Jal turned out to be a model for rest of the country. Bihar started this scheme and today across India millions of rural households have access to tap water,” said Sanjay Kumar Jha, Minister for Water Resources Department & Information & Public Relations Department, Government of Bihar. Water Resources Department was the nodal agency of this project, and completed in record time of less than three years.

The project is significant for country’s many water-stressed regions, since it not only addresses the drinking water issue but also serves as a model of sustainable ecological management. What makes this project also special is the scale, and incredible speed with which this has been executed - considering the long phase of lockdowns due to Covid pandemic. 

“While chairing the December 2019 Cabinet meeting in Gaya, Shri Nitish Kumar had spelt out his grand vision of addressing the long-pending drinking water needs of this Buddhist circuit townships. What followed was a long spell of challenge including Covid-induced lockdown. But CM had a firm resolve of rolling out this project expeditiously. It’s an outcome of Bhagirath Prayas of CM and a hugely gratifying moment for us,” said Jha.

Jha also added that this project uniquely addresses four Sustainable Development Goals - 3 (Good Health & Wellbeing), 6 (Clean Water & Sanitation), 11 (Sustainable Cities & Communities), 13 (Climate Action).

Bihar faces a double whammy of floods and water scarcity. While cities in the north are flooded during Monsoons, there is huge scarcity in townships of the south in summers. “This project addresses both the problems in one go, and it has to be result of an extraordinary vision of Chief Minister,” Jha added.

What else would describe the Herculean task of lifting the Ganga water upwards - from plains to hills! 

“We’ve heard of the Ganga descending from the mountains to the hills, but thanks to resolve of Chief Minister and an engineering feat, we see the reverse being achieved. What’s special, a 151-km pipeline has been laid out to bring water from Ganga to these cities. The pipeline criss-crosses over six major rivers, 13 railways crossings, 19 roads crossings, 5 overhead crossings among others, and aided by 31 big water pumps,” said Jha.