Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 579/18

ONE-DAY WORKSHOP ON RURAL TOURISM HELD

A one-day Workshop for promotion and development of rural tourism cooperative societies and indigenous products was held today at Raj Bhavan, Shillong. The workshop was organized by the office of the Meghalaya Village Development & Promotion Tourism Cooperative Society Ltd., Shillong in collaboration with the office of the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Meghalaya, Shillong. The workshop is aimed at promoting the local indigenous products of the Cooperative Societies undertaking Rural Tourism Projects. Meghalaya Tourism Minister, Shri Metbah Lyngdoh graced the inaugural function as Chief Guest. Addressing the inaugural function, Meghalaya Tourism Minister, Shri Metbah Lyngdoh said that the workshop will not only provide the platform for promoting rural tourism but will also create tremendous opportunities to boost tourism industry in the State. Shri Lyngdoh also stressed on the formation of a road map for tourism which will include capacity building for the communities to enable the locals to interact with the tourists and also to promote their indigenous products. He urged all the participants to take full advantage of the workshop and put it into practice the knowledge gained from the deliberations from the resource persons. Others who spoke during the inaugural function include Additional Chief Secretary & Agricultural Production Commissioner, Shri K. N. Kumar, Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Meghalaya, Shillong, Shri Arunkumar Kembhavi and Managing Director, Meghalaya Village Development & Promotion Tourism Cooperative Society Ltd., Shillong, Smti R. Kharmujai. A short documentary film on various tourist spots of Meghalaya was screened during the inaugural function. During the business session, Resource Persons from Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong, Lady Keane College, Shillong, Institute of Hotel Management, Shillong, Meghalaya Rural Tourism Forum (MRTF), Meghalaya Institute of Entrepreneurship and Tourism Department deliberated on the variety of topics namely, Eco-Tourism and its potentialities in the State of Meghalaya, Rural Tourism as a tool for Sustainable Livelihood, Hospitality and Front Office, Adventure Sport and other Tourism activities, Marketing of local products produces by Tourism Cooperative Societies and Tourism in Meghalaya.

Press Release No. 580/18

POSHAN MAAH LAUNCHED AT SHILLONG

The Deputy Commissioner of East Khasi Hills, Shri P. S. Dkhar today launched the Poshan Maah, a nutrition month for the East Khasi Hills District at Shillong. The month of September will be observed as Nutrition Maah (or month) with the aim of reaching every household with the message of nutrition (every house a celebration of nutrition). Speaking on the occasion, Shri Dkhar stressed on the need of convergence of different line departments, community leaders and NGOs for the successful implementation of the programme. The Deputy Commissioner urged the participants to convey the message of the importance of right nutrition, right food, clean water and healthy practices to each and every household. The month-long intensive campaign of the Poshan Maah, A National Nutrition Mission launched by the Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India is aimed at ensuring holistic development and adequate nutrition for pregnant women, mothers and children. The themes for the campaign includes promotion of antenatal care, breastfeeding, complementary feeding, fight anemia, growth monitoring, importance of girls education, nutrition and the right age of marriage, and also to promote hygiene and sanitation. The Social Welfare department in a power-point presentation gave an overview of the Rashtriya Poshan Abhiyaan. During the launching programme, the Deputy Commissioner administered the Poshan Pledge to the gathering.

Press Release No. 581/18

57TH STATE LEVEL TEACHERS DAY CELEBRATED

Along with the rest of the country, Teachers’ Day was celebrated here today in a State Level Celebration that was held at U Soso Tham Auditorium, Shillong which was attended by Minister, Education, Shri Lahkmen Rymbui as the Chief Guest. Addressing the gathering of teachers and students, Chief Guest, Shri Lahkmen Rymbui, Minister, Education, while extending his warmest greetings to the teaching fraternity said that teachers are a source of inspiration and motivation who draw the path that a student needs to take. He said that with the increasing expectations of the parents the responsibilities of the teachers have increased manifold while it is a challenge also to comply with the various acts relating to Education. The Minister said that the government recognizes the problems faced by the teachers in the state and the government is working on solving those issues. He informed that there is a dearth of trained teachers and the state government is tying up with the central government on a mission to have cent per cent trained teachers in the state. He urged the teachers to take this opportunity to improve their skills on imparting Education while adding that the government is also contemplating of Teachers’ exchange programmes on a national and international level. While lamenting the mindset of the people of the state who look upon government schools across the state as the last option for admissions, the Minister urged the teachers of these government schools to work with dedication for better Education so that even the government schools are at par with the best educational institutions in the State. He also reminded the parents, the locality and members of the society to join together and monitor such government schools for any anomalies in the system of imparting quality Education to the children. He further urged the agitating teachers to cooperate with the government and informed the gathering that the government is working with commitment to address all the problems that the teachers are facing in the state.

Earlier, in his Key Note Address, Additional Secretary, Education, Shri C P Gotmare, also informed that the State government is serious about the issues faced by the teachers and its efforts to improve their social standards and that it is a social and economic responsibility of upholding this noble profession however the children’s future cannot be compromised. He said that while there is a need to provide the teachers with the right tools and skills of teaching the teachers need to equip themselves to the challenges of modern methods of teaching that demand lifelong adaptable methods and techniques especially equipping themselves to new challenges of Information Technology. The Chief Guest also presented the State Awards and the Special Awards to teachers from different districts of the state and also released the Mid Day Meal Handbook during the occasion. Students of different schools presented a number of songs and dances to mark the celebration.

Press Release No. 586/18

LAUNCHING OF THE E-OFFICE FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF MEGHALAYA

Meghalaya Chief Minister, Shri Conrad K. Sangma today formally launched the e-office for the Government of Meghalaya. The objective of the e-office is to usher in more efficient, effective and transparent inter-government and intra-government transactions and processes. Inaugurating the e-office at his chamber, the Chief Minister said, “It will allow us to clear the files and issue necessary order and instructions on the go, which will transform the day-to-day function of the office in an efficient manner.” The Chief Minister expressed confidence that with the e-office in place tracking of files and clearing of files will be easy and records of all documents can be kept online for necessary reference and accessibility. “I am very happy that the process will also be environment friendly as movement of files will be digital and will reduce the use of paper in the office,” he added. The Chief Minister had been pursuing with the department for introduction of technology enabled services for the benefit of the people and for effective functioning of different government departments, the e-office is a step towards furthering the objective and goals of the government. The e-office has been designed by the National Informatics Centre. Amongst officers present at the launch were Director General NIC, Smt Neeta Verma via Video Conference from Delhi, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Smt R.V. Suchiang, Deputy Director General and SIO Meghalaya, Shri Timothy Dkhar, Deputy Director General Rachna Srivastava, Head of E-Office NIC New Delhi.