(GIST OF KURUKSHETRA) Meghalaya: Mawlynnong

[JUNE-2022]

About 72 km away from Shillong, the Meghalaya capital, is situated Mawlynnong – a beautiful village inhabited by the Khasi tribe, which has earned global fame as being one of the cleanest villages of the world. Locally referred to as “God’s Own Garden”, it is also one of the finest examples of community-based eco-tourism initiative in India. While every villager considers it his or her sacred duty to promote cleanliness, Mawlynnong’s dainty lanes are dotted with bamboo garbage bins for people to dump waste.
The village has pits where the waste is turned into manure, and visitors can also buy packets of organic manure from there. Plastic, polythene and smoking are strictly prohibited here.
Every Mawlynnong household also practises rainwater harvesting. Visitors can also have a bird’s eye view of Bangladesh from the village perched on the southern edge of the Shillong plateau. The single-decker Nohwet Living Root Bridge is yet another unique attraction of Mawlynnong.