SHILLONG: As the first humble step towards fulfilling his duties as the Member of Parliament (MP) who has vowed to adopt Kongthong village in East Khasi Hills, Rajya Sabha MP Prof Rakesh Sinha, through the Seva Bharati, Meghalaya East Khasi Hills unit, distributed sanitary pads and Dettol soap to the women of the village.
The programme was held in the presence of the Sordar of Raid Kongthong, Kanol Majaw.
In his speech, the Sordar expressed his gratitude to Prof Rakesh Sinha for his contribution to the people of Kongthong and his promise to bring more development to the village.
Bijit Khongsit, president of Seva Bharati Meghalaya, Shillong unit, who was also present at the function, thanked the MP for his kindness and support to the village and hoped that his adoption of Kongthong would bring more developmental schemes to the village. The villagers too expressed their gratitude to Sinha.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Shillong Times from Delhi, Sinha said he is delighted to be part of the journey of Kongthong and would be trying his best to bring in better development depending on the priorities of the people.
He said providing sanitary napkins and soap to women was a step that was encouraged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It may look like a small step but it can work wonders as far as creating awareness on women’s health and hygiene is concerned, he added.
Recently, the villagers had engaged in a Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA) exercise to understand and prioritise the needs of the people of Kongthong. The result of this PRA model would be submitted to Prof Sinha so that there is a definite road map which the MP can pursue to extend the much-needed development to this village.