Every tourist destination seeks to find its unique selling point, something that will attract visitors year on year. It could be its natural beauty or its historical significance. Yet there is a village in Meghalaya, a state in north-east India, that brings in hordes of tourists just for its cleanliness. Yes, the village is so pristine that visitors, from India and abroad, come to experience its cleanliness.
Drive a couple of hours out of Shillong and you'll arrive in Mawlynnong, a tiny village near the Bangladesh-India border in the Khasi Hills. The village is surrounded by abundant greenery that stretches as far as the eye can see. Towering trees and rolling hills form a picturesque backdrop, creating a serene atmosphere that immediately soothes. The bamboo houses and cement village pathways are adorned with vibrant flowers, creating a riot of colours that contrast with the green surroundings. This floral beauty is a testament to the villagers' meticulous care and their commitment to creating an inviting ambiance.
At first glance there is nothing remarkable about Mawlynnong. But if you look closely you will spot the difference – such as the ubiquitous presence of khoh, cone-shaped bamboo woven baskets in every corner of the village used as bins. The handmade baskets are a constant reminder for people not to litter in the village.
In 2003, a travel writer from Discover India Magazine labelled Mawlynnong as “Asia’s cleanest village”, as have various other publications since then, including National Geographic and Lonely Planet.
It has been 20 years and the community living here has tried its best to retain the crown.
“We have introduced sustainable measures to keep our village clean and eco-friendly by banning plastic, smoking and adopting a zero-tolerance policy towards littering," village secretary Precious Khongdup, 31, tells The National.
On a rain-washed Saturday morning, Khongdup gives a tour of his village, where people from all age groups can be found out on the streets armed with brooms and bamboo baskets. They were sweeping the village roads and picking up tiny pieces of rubbish that missed the dustbin.
“Cleaning the village is a community effort and we have a rule where we clean our village every Saturday morning for two hours between 7am and 9am,” he says. There are 120 families who live in the village and every individual plays a part in keeping the village clean.
“Prior to the cleanest village title, the village was a nondescript place, almost unreachable by car due to bad roads, but the savvy locals recognised the title as an opportunity to change the social status of their village,” says Sabrina Lyngdoh, faculty member of the Indian Institute of Tourism and Travel Management in Shillong. They made cleanliness their unique selling point and turned their village into a tourism model for the entire country, she adds.
The rural tourism model has created an ecosystem where most villagers play a part. People value the importance of cleanliness because this helps to bring in revenue.
Richard June Mawroh, a resident who runs a homestay, says 60 per cent of the villagers are involved in rural tourism. The remaining 40 per cent are farmers who grow betel nuts, bay trees, black pepper and seasonal vegetables. Mawroh's family has been running a homestay that gives tourists a local village experience for the past two decades.
As you enter the village there is a large field that is used as a car park, where visitors will find Khasi souvenir stalls and tea shops.
Mawlynnong inspires others to maintain cleanliness, says Vijaya Kumari, a traveller from New Delhi. “After visiting Mawlynnong we decided to visit the nearby Nowhet village, where I was surprised to see similar cleanliness practices being followed,” Kumari says.
The village has inspired many other smaller villages in the east Khasi hills to adopt the culture of cleanliness and build a tourism ecosystem around the idea of clean villages, Khongdup says. He provided examples of villages such as Nowhet, Nongeitniang and Riwai, all situated in close proximity to Mawlynnong.
Over-tourism is a concern in Mawlynnong, and something avid Guwahati traveller Sahidul Islam has voiced concern about. "I used to love the peaceful natural vibe of the village and have visited Mawlynnong more than once. But now you get to see more tourists than villagers," he tells The National.
Voicing a similar concern, Bah Ian, general secretary of Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum, describes over-tourism and heavy commercialisation as a "double-edged sword". "We need tourists because it is driving the economy, but too many of them can create problems in the long run," he says.
"The villagers of Mawlynnong and the tourism department should know where to draw the line to make it sustainable."
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
Labour dispute
The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.
- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, Group B
Barcelona v Inter Milan
Camp Nou, Barcelona
Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
If you go...
Fly from Dubai or Abu Dhabi to Chiang Mai in Thailand, via Bangkok, before taking a five-hour bus ride across the Laos border to Huay Xai. The land border crossing at Huay Xai is a well-trodden route, meaning entry is swift, though travellers should be aware of visa requirements for both countries.
Flights from Dubai start at Dh4,000 return with Emirates, while Etihad flights from Abu Dhabi start at Dh2,000. Local buses can be booked in Chiang Mai from around Dh50
Golden Shoe top five (as of March 1):
Harry Kane, Tottenham, Premier League, 24 goals, 48 points
Edinson Cavani, PSG, Ligue 1, 24 goals, 48 points
Ciro Immobile, Lazio, Serie A, 23 goals, 46 points
Mohamed Salah, Liverpool, Premier League, 23 goals, 46 points
Lionel Messi, Barcelona, La Liga, 22 goals, 44 points
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Tour de France 2017: Stage 5
Vittel - La Planche de Belles Filles, 160.5km
It is a shorter stage, but one that will lead to a brutal uphill finish. This is the third visit in six editions since it was introduced to the race in 2012. Reigning champion Chris Froome won that race.
Blue%20Beetle
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TOP 5 DRIVERS 2019
1 Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes, 10 wins 387 points
2 Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes, 4 wins, 314 points
3 Max Verstappen, Red Bull, 3 wins, 260 points
4 Charles Leclerc, Ferrari, 2 wins, 249 points
5 Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, 1 win, 230 points
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
WIDE%20VIEW
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Evacuations to France hit by controversy
- Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
- Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
- The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
- Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
- It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
- Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
- Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France
Founders: Ines Mena, Claudia Ribas, Simona Agolini, Nourhan Hassan and Therese Hundt
Date started: January 2017, app launched November 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Private/Retail/Leisure
Number of Employees: 18 employees, including full-time and flexible workers
Funding stage and size: Seed round completed Q4 2019 - $1m raised
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, 500 Startups, Vision Ventures, Seedstars, Mindshift Capital, Delta Partners Ventures, with support from the OQAL Angel Investor Network and UAE Business Angels
The years Ramadan fell in May
PROFILE BOX
Company name: Overwrite.ai
Founder: Ayman Alashkar
Started: Established in 2020
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai
Sector: PropTech
Initial investment: Self-funded by founder
Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors
The years Ramadan fell in May
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
Barcelona 3
Messi (27’, 32’, 87’)
Leganes 1
El Zhar (68’)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-finals, first leg
Liverpool v Roma
When: April 24, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Anfield, Liverpool
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Dubai World Cup Carnival card
6.30pm: UAE 1000 Guineas Trial Conditions (TB) US$100,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (Turf) 1,000m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (D) 1,900m
8.15pm: Meydan Challenge Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
8.50pm: Dubai Stakes Group 3 (TB) $200,000 (D) 1,200m
9.25pm: Dubai Racing Club Classic Listed Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections
6.30pm: Final Song
7.05pm: Pocket Dynamo
7.40pm: Dubai Icon
8.15pm: Dubai Legacy
8.50pm: Drafted
9.25pm: Lucius Tiberius
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Cheb%20Khaled'
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