SHILLONG: Wakringtonggre, a small militancy-affected village situated 11 kilometres away from Rongram in West Garo Hills scripted a success story when as per revised checklist of Swachh Bharat Mission the village got together to declare itself ‘Nirmal’ or ‘Open Defecation Free’.
In a programme held on October 29 all 52-odd households of the village not only declared themselves open defecation free but also took a pledge for sustaining the sanitation and litter free campaign which are central to the declaration under the flagship programme of Swachh Bharat Mission. For this feat the village was given a certificate by the Deputy Commissioner, who is also the Chairman of the District Water and Sanitation Mission, West Garo Hills.
A trophy was also handed over to the Village Water & Sanitation Committee and the congratulatory message from the Deputy Commissioner was read out in the village. The villagers celebrated the feat with a feast.
Wakringtonggre is a remote village and is militancy affected. The feat of achieving “Nirmal” status is a major morale booster for the villagers who were overjoyed on being chosen as the International Terra Madre festival theme village apart from five other villages.
The International Terra Madre festival would involve visits from guests and delegates even from foreign countries in the first week of November and the village shall have ample opportunity to showcase the rich Achik culture and tradition, cuisine, folklore, music and dance during the festivities apart from proudly displaying their status as a clean and green and open defecation free village.
With Wakringtonggre securing the much coveted open defecation free status, the Rongram C & RD Block inches close to the Nirmal Block status which shall be a much anticipated and celebrated as the first in Meghalaya and other North Eastern states barring Sikkim where the Swachh Bharat Mission is already a success.
It may be recalled that in the last edition of Nirmal Gram Puraskar in 2012-13 West Garo Hills secured 216 awards which is the highest in the country and the Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation, Government of India carried a success story in their official website for several months. It also found a mention in the World Bank document released a year back.
