PRAYAGRAJ, Feb. 28 -- In the dusty lanes of Jasra village, around 20 kilometres from Prayagraj in the district's trans-Yamuna region, a quiet transformation is taking shape-driven by women who are bottling sacred water. At the centre of this transformation is 51-year-old Namita Singh, Block Mission Manager under the National Rural Livelihood Mission. A postgraduate in Economics, Singh has spent years working at the grassroots, equipping rural women with skills that may seem simple in concept but are powerful in impact-packaging, branding and building market linkages. Five years ago, she helped form the "Nari Shakti Mahila Prerna Sankul," a self-help group (SHG) dedicated to packaging water from the sacred Sangam-the confluence of the Ganga, Yamuna and the mythical Saraswati. Before the initiative took shape, most women in Jasra spent their days confined to household chores, with limited avenues for income generation. Today, their evenings tell a different story. "After completing our daily work at home, we gather at the local packaging plant and work together till evening, bottling and preparing Sangam water for distribution," Singh said. What began as a modest effort has grown into a sustainable model of economic independence. "This initiative has fundamentally changed our lives. It has given us dignity, pride and a steady income," she added. A district-wide movement Singh's work mirrors a larger transformation across Prayagraj district. According to Gulabchand, the district NRLM officer, the journey began in 2017 with the formation of 1,409 self-help groups. Today, that number has surged to 27,451 SHGs, engaging more than three lakh women. Each SHG starts with at least 10 women. The government facilitates the opening of a bank account in the group's name. After three months of regular functioning, the group receives Rs.15,000 as revolving funds. Upon timely repayment, additional financial support is extended through the Community Investment Fund after six months. The model, officials say, encourages financial discipline, collective responsibility and long-term sustainability. From Jasra to the world The success of Jasra's SHG has been particularly striking. Following the conclusion of the Mahakumbh, demand for packaged Sangam and Ganga water surged, both online and offline. Orders began pouring in from across India and abroad. Nearly 1,000 bottles were shipped to Germany. Pune recorded orders of 50,000 bottles. Requests have also come from the United States, Russia and Nepal, particularly from expatriate Hindu families seeking a sacred connection to home. What started as a village-level initiative has evolved into an enterprise with international reach-powered entirely by rural women who once had little access to economic opportunity. From small beginnings in Jasra to global dispatches, the women of Prayagraj stand as a testament to how self-help groups under NRLM are reshaping rural India. In bottling sacred water, they have also bottled something far more transformative-confidence, independence and the courage to dream beyond village boundaries....