GANGTOK, November 26: A group of 55 college students from Saint Edmund’s College, Shillong headed by three lecturers is in Gangtok to study various NGO activities in the State as part of their project work in first year graduation in social works.
Today the group visited the Sikkim Government Residential Complex at Syari to study the various community initiatives that have been taken up. One successful initiative has been the solving of the parking problem in which car owners contribute Rs 150 each for the services of a care-taker who ensures the security and safety of the vehicles. These care-takers are also involved in neighbourhood watch in which they report any unsocial activities to the police beat patrol that visits the locality at 11pm every night. The other initiative which the Shillong group studied was the Syari Litter Free Zone and the management of garbage through door to door collection. All these initiatives have led to employment of local youths.
Rajesh Verma of the Syari Employees Welfare Association and Onex Lepcha, a local youth social worker showed the group around and spelt out the future planned initiatives like setting up of a paper recycling unit in the locality. It was also explained that there was a potential for creating 500 jobs of parking attendants and caretakers in the State if this model can be replicated. Car owners would not mind paying a hundred rupees a month for their vehicles parked unattended on the road side, the visiting group was informed.
The students felt that this initiative could be adopted in Shillong which, they said was also plagued with parking and garbage problems.
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