A little step gives big smiles to young Manipur students

Imphal, Dec 1: Manipur’s Tamenglong district hit the headlines about a decade back when its young and dynamic Deputy Commissioner Armstrong Pame built a whopping 100-km road with the help of people without funds from the government.

After Pame, many Deputy Commissioners, who were posted in Tamenglong, also extended their utmost efforts to grow the district in all spheres.

Amid the people’s yearning for progress, a young IAS officer Dr L Angshim Dangshawa joined Tamenglong as its new DC a few months back, according to a press release issued by DIPR Manipur.

Soon after his joining, he spawned new ideas to shape up the district and executed one of them towards the education and public hygiene front which fetched good results.

On September 15, 2023, under his initiatives, five mini “Street Libraries” were set up at five garbage dumping sites- TBC Junction, Old Market, Rani Gaidinliu Market, Medical Gate and Bethel Church Road Junction after cleansing the trash at Tamenglong town at the district headquarters about 145 Km from Imphal.

The library is a small bookshelf measuring about a little over 2-feet in breadth and about 3-feet in length was set up as part of the ‘Swachhata Hi Seva’ campaign under the theme, “Free Garbage India” which ended on October 2, and it stands without lock with inspiring quotes which reads “The reader does not steal and the thief does not read.”

“Though many schemes remained either dysfunctional or scrapped after smart beginning in the state, the mini library initiatives really worked as a team of journalists, who visited the district a few days back, found them functional with young students thronging them,” the release said. “No garbage was also found in the street library areas. People of the town on Wednesday(November 29) were also informed of the running of the library smoothly.”

“Many people have donated books for the street libraries. So far, the libraries are functional with young children coming and taking books. In some cases, they have returned the books and, in some cases, they have not returned. Some students have also put new books by themselves,” the young IAS officer said.

“Let’s wait and see for some more time, we will get to know. I named the library ‘Garbage or Knowledge?’ This is just a message asking the people whether you choose the garbage or you choose the library,” added Dangshawa, an MBBS degree holder.

Former sub-divisional magistrate of Paomata in Senapati district before his Tamenglong posting, also continued that he has taken up some other new initiatives in the health and education sectors in the district which also yielded good results.

A standard-VIII student Jaikanglung of Kendriya Vidyalaya, who was searching for books at one of the libraries, said “This is my first time visiting this library. I have chosen a book to read and after reading I’ll return it.”

His friends who had been visiting the library frequently said they were very happy to have such a library here. Earlier the place were full of garbage and now the area is clean, they said.

President of Rongmei Naga Students’ Organisation Manipur (RNSOM) Daichui Gangmei, while appreciating the deputy commissioner’s smart library initiative said “We want to thank the DC for his smart steps taken up in the district.”