The Tibet Autonomous Regional Government will spend 200 million yuan (US$28.6 million) this year to provide safe drinking water for more than 230,000 farmers and herdsmen, the regional department of water resources said on Thursday.

Since launching in 2005, the safe drinking water project has benefited more than 600,000 rural residents, according to department officials. So far, 450 million yuan has been invested into the project.

Easy access to safe drinking water has contributed to improved health among rural residents and the local economic development, an unnamed official added.

Over history, many Tibetan farmers and herdsmen have had to walk long distances and carry water on their back. Unsanitary water was also a problem.

Last year, the Tibet regional government built 9,616 kilometers of highways in the rural areas that enabled 848 villages to have access to the roads. It also supplied electricity for about 180,000 people who had not previously had access to power or suffered from shortages. Safe drinking water was provided for 332,800 people.

(Xinhua News Agency April 5, 2008)