GUWAHATI, Sept 26 - As part of its social responsibility project, the Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) Guwahati has adopted Rajamayong village in Morigaon district as a model village and a number of projects have been undertaken to usher in development at the place, including commissioning of an RO water plant, formation of self-help groups (SHGs) and distribution of solar lamps.
The village is located in the vicinity of the Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary.
�IIE has already installed a 3,000 litre per day RO drinking water plant where villagers are purchasing the water at the rate of Rs 1 per litre, which was commissioned last month and has given employment to one local operator. The surplus amount is kept with the Village Development Group account towards making the project self-sustaining,� an official of IIE told The Assam Tribune.
Rajamayong village has been adopted with financial assistance of Rs 13 lakh from the National Backward Finance Development Corporation (NBCFDC) in the first phase.
�This is going to be a continuous process and IIE is also planning to develop home stay tourism and we also plan to take up a multi-activity cluster where 500 artisans will be employed,� said the official.
The official said that there is report of reduction in water-borne diseases since the commissioning of the RO plant.
IIE is also building a modern toilet block which will be on sustainable basis. �It will also be useful to the tourists that come to Pobitora,� said the official.
IIE had already trained 30 women in water hyacinth crafts and trained two unemployed youths in adventure tourism.
�We conducted a few awareness camps and formed SHGs among the villagers so that they can become financially enabled,� said the official.
The area around Rajamayong suffered huge losses during this year�s devastating floods.
�IIE has taken up an initiative of providing solar lights to very poor families living in the area, who have for years been deprived of electricity and had to use kerosene lamps. Earlier this month, we distributed 25 solar lamps with support from Hindustan Prefab Ltd (HPL). Another 28 solar lamps were distributed on September 23 with support from North East Solar Company,� said the official.
IIE officials said that the aim is to develop the village on a sustainable basis and showcase it as a model for rural development.