SHILLONG, April 14: Rajya Sabha member, Prof Rakesh Sinha on Thursday announced that he has adopted three more villages in the vicinity of Kongthong – Mawmang, Mawshut and Sder.
Stating that there is lack of medical facility and connectivity in the area, he said that will set up a virtual clinic by the end of May where trained professional will be placed and diagnosis will be done through a camera by a doctor and medicines will be prescribed.
He informed that he has initiated similar clinics in Bihar which have been successful.
He also informed that a traditional gate will also be constructed at the entrance of the village without any government help and a vending machine for sanitary napkins will be set up in the village.
Highlighting the plight of the villagers, he said that they suffer from extreme poverty, lack of educational system and lack of good connectivity.
Stating that villagers have been exploited in as far as the business of broom, betel leaves and honey is concerned, he said that the villagers sell brooms at 15 per piece which is then sold 60 km away in Shillong for over Rs 90 each.
He said that a cooperative society is being set up to address the problem.
The Rajya Sabha MP pointed out three crucial parameters for the villagers to grow — economic empowerment is crucial, political empowerment making them politically conscious about their rights and sustainable development.
Sinha, who has adopted the now famous village of Kongthong, also said that efforts will be made gradually to rectify the tag line “whistling village” before it earns the UNESCO heritage tag.
Sinha said that the rectification has to be done gradually and it will start through the social media. Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum president, Allan West Kharkongor had earlier urged the state government to correct the mistake of naming Kongthong as the “whistling village”.
Kharkongor is said to be the first to discover and bring to light the unique tradition of not only the people of Kongthong but also the locals of Khat-ar Shnong who assign a song as a name to a newborn child. He had stated that the tradition was in no way associated with whistling.