SHILLONG: Mawlynnong, known for its cleanliness, was showcased at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017.
Thomlin Khongthohrem, the Rangbah Shnong of Mawlynnong, was invited by the Department of Rural Development in Gujarat to attend the seminar on smart villages entitled ‘Empowering Rural India’ as part of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit 2017 on January 11.
Himanshu Patel, the sarpanch of Punsari in Gujarat, and Chhavi Rajawat of Soda village in Rajasthan were the other villages invited to share their experience in the making of resilient villages as a road map for other rural areas in Gujarat.
Rajawat is the youngest woman sarpanch holding an MBA degree in India. The session was chaired by W.R Reddy, Director of National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj.
Khongthohrem was accompanied by local architect Aiban S. Mawkhroh who prepared a presentation highlighting the history of the village in terms of administration and financial management.
The presentation also explained the unique characteristics of Mawlynnong in terms of cleanliness and how this character was used as a unique selling point for the development of the village as a tourist destination with the help of the MTDF in 2004.
They also informed the audience that apart from the fame and fortune that tourism has brought for Mawlynnong, there is also the downside of excessive exposure to tourism where the Living Root Bridge and the village square are under threat owing to high footfall and car parking, respectively. This has led to an invasion of privacy of the villagers and the loss of tranquillity that has deterred nature lovers.
The seminar also had presentations by renowned figures in the field of rural development like Anil Gupta, professor of IIM Ahmedabad, Louis G Arsenault, UN Resident Coordinator and Representative of UNICEF India, Rajendra P Gupta, President of Disease Management Association of India, Ganesh Neelam, Head of Innovation at Tata Trust and Dr Shailaja Fennell, Lecturer of Development Studies, Cambridge University, among others.
