India: Mawlynnong the « cleanest village in Asia

In northeast India, the small village of Mawlynnong is an example of harmony and cleanliness for the rest of the Asian continent.
This small village of 500 inhabitants is called « the cleanest in Asia ». In Mawlynnong, in northeast India, cleanliness and aesthetics reign. Plastic and cigarettes are banned, while bamboo bins are found on every street corner. Most of the garbage is recycled or turned into manure and the rest is burned outside the village. Finally, Mawlynnong is entirely supplied with clean energy, in particular thanks to solar energy.

Mass tourism

Every day, 250 people come to Mawlynnong to visit this exemplary village, especially for the rest of India and the inhabitants of the big cities facing major pollution problems. If tourism, based on the exceptional cleanliness of the village, brings a considerable economic activity, it also poses a problem to the inhabitants. Some visitors, not used to it, sometimes leave their garbage lying around in the streets and Mawlynnong has become a sort of tourist attraction: « There is no longer any private life (…) A woman who washes her clothes gets her picture taken » deplores one of the inhabitants of the village.