Imphal (Manipur): A small village in Kangpokpi district of Manipur has become one of the cleanest villages in northeast India. The villagers here have taken an initiative to promote cleanliness and healthy living. Mapao Zingsho is an ancient village with old and modern hamlets.
Being a model village, the villagers here discourage littering in the public place. Surrounded by lush green landscapes and picturesque mountains, the village has some 700 inhabitants, who are mainly engaged in farming.
Garbage bins are placed along the roads and near every household to maintain cleanliness and healthy life. The houses are also well maintained and decorated with craftwork and paintings.
On this tradition of keeping the village clean, a villager from the district Sorchang Zimik said, “We want our village to be a model village and the initial reason is to keep ourselves healthy. We want the youngster to learn and we want them this to be their habit to keep the surroundings clean.”
To maintain the habit of keeping the village clean and healthy, the village elders invite children to join them every Saturday to help in keeping the locality clean. They even teach children about the benefits of cleanliness and healthy living.
Inhabited mostly by the Tangkhul Naga tribe, the village has a history of maintaining an affinity with other tribes of the state, especially Meitei. It helps to uphold peace and brotherhood in the area.
A villager, Ramkui said, “It feels good when people tour our village and identifying it as one of the ‘cleanest village’ in the state is encouraging and good for us. However, we have been living like this for long, so it’s a natural thing for us… However, promoting our village as tourism spot would be great and I also request the government to help us preserve our village.”
The village also promotes cleanliness among the people of the country. In 2016, on World Tourism Day the village hosted a mega event, which was attended by a large number of visitors.
With its practice of protecting the environment by promoting cleanliness, Mapao Zingsho village will surely emerge as a future destination of tourism in Manipur. (ANI)
