MLCU students enthral villagers
JOWAI: A Cultural Program on the theme, ‘Our Culture is our Identity’ was organized at Cham Cham village in East Jaintia Hills on Friday which attracted hundreds of people from around 16 villages in the area.
The Program was organized by students of Martin Luther Christian University, Hima Biam and Baiakmenlang Sumer, a third year student of MSW and was sponsored by the an Individual, Prakash Phwa who is also a Secretary of the Cham Cham village Tourism Development Society.
Parliamentary Secretary in charge Education department and Local MLA, Justine Dkhar, JHADC Chief, MB Rymbai and JHADC Chairman, Obil Kyndait attended the program as chief guest and guests of honour respectively.
Both the students spent more than 15 days in the village interacting with people and organizing various activities such as social work, awareness programs on various issued particularly on health and sanitation beside tourism promotion in the village which was blessed with beautiful landscaped beside one of the famous Rynii water falls of Meghalaya.
They (Hima and Baia) also paid a visit to each household in the village to find out their day to day problems.
The general problem that the villagers are suffering is poor health services and water scarcity. The Health Department of the State Government has setup a sub-health centre in the village but since the time of completion of the building construction none of the health staff came provide health care service through the sub-health centre.
“The health centre has never functioned since the time of its existence”, said one of the elder in the village.
Speaking at the inaugural function of Cultural Program, Baiakmenlang Sumer urged the public representative, the MLA, MDC and the JHADC Chief to help the people of this village particularly in term of health services, water supply beside others.
She also said that though there is a central government scheme – the Total Sanitation Campaign is available for the people in rural area, it seems that none of the villager has access in to it.
Local MLA, Justine Dkhar was very happy to see that the program was organized outdoor on the river side at Sahksaw which is a part of River Myntdu.
“This place is really beautiful, we have here the Rynji fall and other place with can be development as tourist spots”, DKhar said, adding that he would take up the matter with the government so that this place could be converted as one of the tourist destination in East Jaintia Hills.
JHADC Chief, MB Rymbai, Local MDC and JHADC Chairman, Obil Kyndait and ADO Khliehriat, Ms H Wann also spoke on the occasion
Women, men and youths from Chamcham village and its surrounding actively participated in the cultural items including traditional New-year dance (shad Kutsnem) behdeinklam, Shad Kyllain Kti and Shadpliang (plate Dance) and many others.