In the 114th episode of ‘Man Ki Baat’ radio programme aired on 30 September, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned the water volunteers called ‘jal saheli’ of Jhansi district whose efforts transformed the river Ghurari of Babina area in the district (in Bundelkhand region).
- The women of the group from Simrawari village of Jhansi district said that earlier the water got wasted because there was no check dam. People also used to witness the scarcity of drinking water in summers. After which they decided to work collectively for the rejuvenation of the river.
- Around 18 ‘Jal Saheli’ volunteers worked for a week, placing about 1000 sacks of sand to reconstruct a worn-out check dam and also elevated its height.
- As a result, the thin water stream which was running less than a foot deep, rose to over four feet .
- The Prime Minister emphasized that ‘Nari Shakti’ (women’s power) enhances ‘Jal Shakti’ (water power) and ‘Jal Shakti’ in turn strengthened ‘Nari Shakti’.
