Bhubaneswar: Altogether 12 Village Water Sanitation Committee (VWSC) members from nine districts in Odisha have been invited as special guests to this year’s Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.

The Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), Ministry of Jal Shakti, has invited the 12 VWSC members from Cuttack, Nabarangpur, Koraput, Nuapada, Bargarh, Sambalpur, Balangir, Ganjam and Balasore to attend the Republic Day parade at Kartavya Path in New Delhi on January 26.

The VWSC members have been invited as the special guests to the Republic Day parade for their exemplary work under the Jal Jeevan Mission, said the Panchayati Raj and Drinking Water Department of the state government in a Twitter (X) post today.

Notably, the Centre has launched the Jal Jeevan Mission with an objective to provide safe and adequate drinking water to all households in rural areas of the country through tap connections by 2024.

It is worth mentioning here that two persons from Rairangpur area in Mayurbhanj district of Odisha have been invited to the Republic Day reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Kiran Dagara of ward no. 10 at Rairangpur and Ramjit Tudu of Govindpur village under Badampahar police limits have been invited to this year’s Republic Day reception at Rashtrapati Bhavan.