Ministry of Jal Shakti Honours 58 WaSH Warriors as Special Guests for 77th Republic Day

Key facts

• The Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, hosted 58 WaSH Warriors from Swachh Sujal Gaon villages as Special Guests for the 77th Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
• The WaSH Warriors were nominated by States and Union Territories under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) to represent rural households, marginalised communities, and Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) majority villages.
• Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri C. R. Patil, chaired the Samvad Samaroh on 27 January 2026, attended by Ministers of State Shri V. Somanna and Shri Raj Bhushan Choudhary.
• The JJM has reportedly benefited over 9.5 crore women and saved an estimated 4.5 crore hours of their time by providing household tap water connections.
• A booklet titled Peyjal: Jan Shakti Ki Abhivyakti – Volume II was released to document the journeys of WaSH Warriors and grassroots leadership in sustainable drinking water systems.
• The event highlighted community leaders including Shri Motilal from Chhattisgarh, Ms Nijuma Devi from Assam, Mrs Lentsothsi from Nagaland, and Shri Amrutbhai Parmar from Gujarat.
• The honoured guests belong to villages that are Har Ghar Jal certified under JJM and ODF Plus Model verified under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).
• Shri Kamal Kishore Soan, Additional Secretary and Mission Director of the National Jal Jeevan Mission (NJJM), interacted with the warriors at Pandit Deendayal Antyodaya Bhawan.