Dadenggre, Mar 20: Ninety-nine villages under Dadenggre block in West Garo Hills district took part in the first ever Bakrim 2025 carnival which concluded on Wednesday.
The inter-village championship aiming at fostering rural development, enhancing community participation and increasing awareness of key government schemes, began on March 10.
With tokay gecko as the festival mascot, an endangered and native species of Dadenggre, the festival also sought to send a strong message about wildlife conservation.
Addressing the closing ceremony West Garo Hills deputy commissioner Jagdish Chelani appreciated the BDO Dadenggre for conceptualising Bakrim 2025.
“Through this way, we could celebrate the government schemes with the people. The whole concept and execution was done by the BDO and his team,” he said.
Lauding the awards given to very old people, the DC said, “The oldest person that we had today who was also healthy and came for the award, is a 104-year-old guy.”
He termed such elderly health persons as “ambassadors of a healthy lifestyle”.
“They have showcased how a good life can be lived,” he added.
Explaining the event and its background Dadenggre BDO Chaitanya Awasthi said it’s a village championship wherein efforts were made to have villages compete in government schemes such as MNREGA, PMAY, NSAP, etc.
“We want to create a healthy competitive environment for the villages… to outperform each other in terms of government schemes,” he said.
Besides, cultural events including dance and music competitions, art, painting, tug of war, volleyball, etc., were organised with an ultimate objective of nudging them towards government schemes, he said.
He also revealed that the entire event was planned within two weeks, from conception to the execution.
“We got 900 plus applications across different schemes and departments for enrolments and pending works,” he said.
Choosing tokay gecko as the mascot of Bakrim 2025 was to create awareness on conservation of the species, he said.
Locals and self-help groups took part in an exhibition on “Self-Sustained Village Economy Experiment”.
On the concept of self-sustained villages, the BDO said stalls were introduced for clothes and food, response for which was overwhelmingly positive.
All stalls were sold out before the event concluded, he said.
However, the participants were assured that their products would be purchased if they didn’t sell, he said, adding, “But the participants reported having no unsold items, which was a satisfying moment for everyone involved.”
Bringing innovation to the carnival, auction was conducted for agricultural produces where participants sold their largest produces.
“The auction was successful, with people buying the produces at good prices,” he said.
The auction helped build a healthy competitive spirit among villages, he added.
The event also felicitated meritorious students, not just for academic excellence but also for their courteousness, discipline, and skills in sports and extracurricular activities.
Dadenggre SDO Aditya Verma was also among several other dignitaries present on the occasion.
