INTERNATIONAL DESK: India Water Foundation highlighted the country’s commendable progress in the field of sanitation and rights to water at the 54th Session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva on Thursday.

At a side event titled “Safeguarding Human Right to Water and Sanitation in India amidst Climate Change”, the panellists deliberated on the Sustainable Development Goal for water and sanitation.

They also commended Clean India or Swachh Bharat Mission wherein 105 Million toilets were built bringing behavioural change in almost 600 million Indians.

India’s Jal Jeevan Mission will achieve safe and affordable drinking water as well as reach rural areas of the country by the year 2024.

Arvind Kumar, CEO of water-foundation”>India Water Foundation in an oral intervention on Interactive Dialogue with Special Rapporteur on Rights to Water & Sanitation highlighted India’s progress in the field of Water & Sanitation.

He informed that since the launch of the Swachh Bharat Mission and the Jal Jeevan Mission programme, 62 per cent of households in rural India have tap water connections and 40 per cent of rural households have declared themselves Open Defecation Free.

India’s Jal Jeevan Mission is constantly growing with an objective to reach out to poor and rural people in the country.

IWF has initiated the Jal Mitra Campaign with 50,000 Jal Mithras to enhance public awareness and inform about environmental issues in urban & rural areas of the country.

The event was moderated by Shweta Tyagi, Chief Founder of IWF.

The panel of Speakers were Arvind Kumar, CEO of IWF, Sonja Koeppel, Secretary of UN Water Convention & UN Economic Commission of Europe in Geneva, Karan Gardes, COO & Acting Director Stockholm International Water Institute, Rajan Ratna, Deputy Head (South & South West Asia) UNESCAP, New Delhi, Satya Tripathi, Secretary General Global Alliance for Sustainable Development & former Assistant Secretary General, UN at New York and Vishnu Ranjan Sinha, Water and Wetland International Union for Conservation Of Nature, Bangkok. (ANI)