Meet the Meghalaya IAS officer who walks 10 km every week to buy sustainably-grown vegetables

IAS officer Ram Singh and his wife (Instagram/ Ram Singh)

If you believe that modern problems need a modern solution, an IAS officer from Meghalaya is here to prove you wrong. Instead of bickering about the state of affairs and becoming a 'keyboard activist', the young officer – Ram Singh – decided to do his bit to save the environment.

The 2008 batch IAS officer of the Assam-Meghalaya cadre, who has been serving as the Deputy Commissioner of West Garo Hills since 2017, walks 10 km every week to buy sustainably-grown vegetables.

Though Singh’s decision was triggered by other factors also, including beating traffic. The walk not only keeps him healthy but his surroundings too. The closest local market, in the area that he is posted in, is 10 km away and he makes a weekly trip to it to buy local produce, which also supports the local farmers.

When he decided to walk to the market instead of taking his vehicle, people thought it was absurd, considering the weight of the vegetables. But Singh and his wife had a solution that needed just a little looking back. They started carrying ‘Kokcheng’ – traditional, local bamboo baskets – which helped them fight plastic pollution too.

So now, Singh, his wife, and their child walk 10 km every week.

Commenting on it, the officer said: “Many complained that it was difficult to walk carrying loads of vegetables. I had suggested them to carry ‘Kokcheng’ (a local bamboo basket) which would even help fight the plastic menace. But they just laughed it off. So, my wife and I headed to the market carrying the bamboo basket which I found to be very helpful in many ways.”

This routine helps him maintain his fitness too.

According to a report by Indian Express, Singh is originally from Himachal Pradesh and was posted in the northeast back in December 2017. Since then, he has been finding out different ways to conserve the environment.

The young officer also takes to social media to talk about the positive things taking shape in the community, such as solar-powered smart classrooms, rainwater harvesting, etc. He has been actively taking part in such environmental drives in the past.

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21kg of organic vegetables shopping, No plastic, No vehicle pollution, No Traffic jam, Jikse Jikse Morning walk.. #fitindia #fitmeghalaya #saynotoplastic

A post shared by Ram Singh (@ram.singh.7564) on Sep 20, 2019 at 9:23pm PDT

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Saturday Shopping in Najing Bazaar..

A post shared by Ram Singh (@ram.singh.7564) on Aug 16, 2019 at 9:33pm PDT

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A post shared by Ram Singh (@ram.singh.7564) on Jul 29, 2019 at 3:24am PDT