Safe Drinking Water and Sanitation
North eastern states of Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland have their own unique water supply problems as most of the habitations are on hill tops and supplying water on the hills has always been a challenge. Additionally, due to the topography and shallow soil cover in these states almost all the rainwater is lost as surface runoff leading to low surface water and groundwater availability. Consequently, the geo-hydrological condition of these state leads to acute water scarcity problem during the non-monsoonal months. The challenge gets bigger when it comes to supplying safe drinking water as finding a source higher than the habitation has its own limitations. Severe water scarcity for both domestic and agricultural consumption is one of the main constraints in agricultural and human development of these states. Shortage of water supply also affects sanitation of communities leading to higher risk of water borne diseases. NEIDA has provided support in construction of sanitation units, roof rain water harvesting tanks, spreading awareness on hygiene. Currently, NEIDA is implementing Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) project in Nagaland, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh through:
- Scaling up of Point of Use Water Purifiers (PoU) in order to ensure Safe Drinking Water at the Household Level in Rural Areas of Mizoram, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
- Multi-stakeholder Initiative is also enacted to provide Drinking Water Security through Springshed Management in 100 villages in Rural Areas of Nagaland.
NEIDAs approach to safe drinking water and sanitation is aimed at addressing the following issues:
- Access to safe and potable drinking water for all
- Drudgery reduction for women and children
- Rejuvenation / protection of water sources
