Jack Tayeng 

SILLUK, Dec 8: Once a nondescript village but now an example for every village of the state, its extraordinary inclination towards cleanliness has turned Silluk into the cleanest village in East Siang District and Waste-Free village in the state.
Situated in Mebo Subdivision, with 150 households and more than 1000 population, Silluk has bagged the tag of Cleanest Village of East Siang District since 2019.
“The journey began in 2019 when few like-minded people came together and decided to bring changes in the village in terms of cleanliness which led to the formation of ‘Swachh Silluk Abhiyan(SSA),” said Chairman SSA, Nong Borang. He also said that the village was one of the dirtiest in the entire district but learning from the cleanliness of Ledum village under  Ruksin circle and motivation from  Deputy Commissioner Dr. Kinny Singh helped them reach here.
Recalling the challenges, Borang says that initially it was difficult to convince the village folks about cleanliness, as they domesticate animals and keep them in the periphery of homes.  
Now cattle is kept in the village outskirts; few people are assigned to look after them and whatever profit they make by selling the milk is distributed among themselves as honorarium. Moreover, plastic wrappers or bags are being sent for recycling as well as wet/kitchen wastes are being deposited in locally made compost pits.  The village doesn't burn its waste items.

"Every morning members of SSA conducts social service in the village and on every second day of the month the whole village participates in the social service. Along with SSA members, there are Silluk Dolung Yame Kebang (SDYK) who look after the administration and bring Bamboo as well as cane for making dustbin, Lukne Village Organization (LVO) looks after sweeping the village and senior people make dustbins. Moreover, if any person abstains from work without valid reason they have to pay a fine of Rs 200," informed Borang.
Now people from various parts of the country visit our village and that is our reward for our hard work, he said adding that if there is any state-level competition for cleanliness “Silluk” is always ready to participate.
"Since the beginning, we have planned to manage Solid waste and created awareness on cleanliness. We are thankful to the villagers for understanding the importance of cleanliness. After cleanliness, villagers of Silluk are also heading towards Rural Tourism," said DC East Siang, Dr. Kinny Singh. She also informed that now many villages of East Siang are adopting cleanliness and importantly they are doing it voluntarily.

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Kenter Joya Riba

(Managing Editor)
      She is a graduate in Science with post graduation in Sociology from University of Pune. She has been in the media industry for nearly a decade. Before turning to print business, she has been associated with radio and television.
Email: kenterjoyaz@easternsentinel.in / editoreasternsentinel@gmail.com
Phone: 0360-2212313

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