Assam: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma to visit Khumtai for 'Clean Village Competition' results

After a month-long competition organized by the BJP MLA of Khumtai constituency, Mrinal Saikia, the cleanest villages and tea estates in the district will finally be announced by none other than the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma himself.

Saikia had organized the competition among all 148 villages and 24 tea estates in his constituency, Khumtai, to encourage people to value cleanliness and participate in the central government's Swachh Bharat Mission. The inter-village and inter-tea garden competition included criteria such as cleanliness of the roadside, waste management, and use of plastic, among others.

Over two lakh people from the constituency have been participating in scrubbing, sweeping, washing, and wiping village roads since February 17, all in the hopes of winning the top prize - a 1 km concrete road. The prizes announced for the tea estates were development schemes worth Rs 5 lakh, Rs 3 lakh, and Rs 2 lakh.

Jury groups consisting of academicians, journalists, civil servants, and environmentalists, including Jadav Payeng and retired college professors, narrowed down the list to a total of 121 villages and tea estates. The external auditors or jury members evaluated villages according to cleanliness standards, including the cleanliness of homes, public building facades, backyards, Namghars (community prayer halls), markets, schools, and other public areas.

Excitement has been building in Khumtai, with the winners to be declared by the Chief Minister during his visit to the constituency on March 17. The entire district is waiting with bated breath for the announcement of the cleanest villages and tea estates in Khumtai, and to see the rewards of their hard work and dedication to cleanliness.

This competition, possibly the first of its kind in India to include an entire constituency, has indeed served as a beacon of hope and inspiration for people across the country to keep their surroundings clean and beautiful.