Guwahati: The Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE), here has adopted flood-prone Rajamayong village in Morigaon district as a model village and embarked on developing it on a comprehensive mode to usher in all round development. Rajamayong is situated about 35 kilometres from Guwahati.
The village is in the vicinity of about 38 square kilometre Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary which has a Rhino population of about 100, making it a wildlife sanctuary with the highest rhino density in the world.
Already the IIE has installed a 3000 litre per day capacity RO drinking water plant where villagers now purchase the water at the rate of rupee one per litre. The water plant was commissioned last month and has given employment to one local operator. The surplus amount thus collected from water is kept with the Village Development Group account towards making the project self-sustaining.
Rajamayong village has been adopted with financial assistance of Rs 13 Lakh from National Backward Finance Development Corporation (NBCFDC) in the first phase. This is going to be a continual process and IIE is also planning to develop home stay tourism and proposing to take up a multi activity cluster where 500 artisans will be benefited.
The IIE is also building one modern toilet block which will be on sustainable basis and will be useful to the tourists that come to Pabitora WLS. The IIE has already trained 30 women in water hyacinth crafts and trained another two unemployed youths in adventure tourism. The IIE has carried out few awareness camps and formed Self Help Groups (SHGs) among villagers so that they can become financially enabled.
This year’s devastating flood has left an adverse impact in the area. The IIE has taken up the initiative of providing solar lights (lanterns) to very poor families living in the area who use Kerosene lamps.
In the first phase, on September 5 last, the IIE distributed 25 solar lamps with support from M/s Hindustan Prefab Limited (HPL).
Again on September 23, 2017 IIE distributed another 28 solar lamps to 28 families with support from North East Solar company. The IIE aims to develop the village on sustainable basis, which will be a showcase in rural development and which can be emulated by many other neighbouring villages, developers and other people who would like to join in hand to do good for the people.