When you talk about villages in general, the image of thatched roofs, small houses, fields, and poor farmers come to mind. The only mode of transport is the bullock cart. You have household animals like cows, goats, sheep, dogs, and cats roaming all around the place. Have you ever seen a village having swanky cars and huge bungalows? People will get the impression that you are speaking through your hat. However, a couple of villages listed below can put some of the big cities to shame.
We refer to India, because all the nine villages listed below are in India. It can surprise many people that India has such a collection of rich villages. In addition to being rich, these villages are quite clean as well. At the end of the article, you get a bonus in the form of the cleanest village in Asia, Mawlynnong. Here is the list of the 9 richest villages in Asia in 2018.
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9. Shani Shingnapur – Maharashtra
Shani Shingnapur is a small village in Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra. This village is famous for its Shani Devta temple. People believe this this deity has emerged out of the ground on its own. This is a world famous pilgrim town. The proximity to Shirdi ensures that this village gets a lot of visitors. Hence, tourism is one of the main sources of income for this village. In addition, this village is right in the center of the sugar belt of Maharashtra.
A unique aspect of this village is that the houses in the village do not have any doors. Even the post office in the village does not have a door. There are no cases of any thefts in this village. People believe that the Shani God protects this village from thieves. Another interesting point to note here is that there is no police station in the village.
8. Kokrebellur – Karnataka
Located at a distance of 82 km from Bengaluru on the Bengaluru – Mysuru highway, Kokrebellur is one of the richest villages in the state. This village is in fact a bird sanctuary. The village gets its name from the painted stork. They call it ‘kokkare’ in the Kannada language. In addition, to the painted stork, you have the spot billed pelicans in plenty in this village. These are birds on the verge of extinction. This sanctuary is the safest place in the world for these beautiful birds. The villagers consider the storks as the harbingers of good fortune. True to their belief, this village is a prosperous one by all means. This village occupies the eighth spot in this list.
7. Dharnai – Bihar
You have an ironical coincidence at the No 7 spot in this list. The village Dharnai is the most developed village on the technological front in what is arguably the most underdeveloped state in India, Bihar. At one point in time about 3 decades ago, there was no electricity in this village. Today, this village is self-sufficient in this field with solar energy meeting the entire energy requirements of this village. Greenpeace has a major contribution to play in this regard. This self-sufficiency ensures that students can study in the night as well. No other city in the entire country of India can boast of such an achievement. Now, this is what you can call ‘being rich in ideas.’
6. Pothanicad – Kerala
Pothanicad in Kerala is rich in a different way. You should not measure richness in terms of money alone. This village in Kerala is one of the foremost villages in India to attain 100% literacy. A large number of its male residents reside in the Gulf countries. The inward remittances from these people make this village monetarily well off. You have an abundance of natural resources in the form of coconut and jack fruit trees. The abundance of green cover makes this village rich in oxygen levels as well. Hence, you have richness of different types in this village. This makes it worthy to occupy the No 6 spot in this list.
5. Punsari – Gujarat
Gujarat is one of the most industrialised states in India. The Gujarati people are enterprising by nature. They know how to make money from scratch. Punsari village is one such village that can give its urban neighbourhood a run for their money. This village has well-developed roads and a unique minibus service as well. This might be the only village in India where every school class room has Wi-Fi, AC, and CCTV cameras. This village depends a lot on solar power as you can see the street lamps being powered by solar energy. Every resident of the village has a special insurance policy that includes medical insurance of Rs 25,000 and life insurance for Rs 100,000. This makes it a fit one to occupy the No 5 spot in the list.
4. Maraog – Himachal Pradesh
Do you know where Tropicana and Real get their apples to make their world-famous apple juices? The place is a small nondescript village in Himachal Pradesh, Maraog. This village is the biggest producer of apples in India. The apple harvest is a huge reason for the prosperity of this village. You can find thousands of apple trees in the area. It is a sight to behold at the time of the apple harvest. You can see the town literally painted red. This village is the leading producer of apples in the world. This makes this village rank at No 4 in this list.
3. Baladia (Kutch) – Gujarat
A visit to Baladia village in Kutch can be an enlightening experience. This could be one of the quietest villages in the entire world. It is not very easy to find a soul on the roads at the best of times. This is because every house in the village has more than one member living either in Kenya or in the UK. The Patel community is very famous for being excellent grocers. They had migrated to Kenya and the UK long ago. However, they have not forgotten their roots. You can see inward remittances in millions pouring in on a daily basis. This village is located in the Kutch district of Gujarat. The area is supposed to be a desert. However, this is the only village in India where people wash the streets everyday with water. Maybe, they can afford to buy water to do so. This village is ranked at No 3 in this list.
2. Hiware Bazar – Maharashtra
Have you ever heard of a village having more than 60 millionaires in its ranks? As on date there are just a few people who classify as poor in this village. We are speaking of Hiwre Bazar in Ahmednagar district in Maharashtra state. This village has a well-developed irrigation system and boasts of an excellent sanitary system as well. The district headquarters, Ahmednagar does not have such sanitary facilities as you can see in Hiwre Bazar. You can see rainwater harvesting facilities in this village. There are no liquor dens because no one drinks liquor in the village. Hence, you can call this village as rich in values as well. This village occupies the No 2 spot in this list.
1. Madhapar (Kutch)- Gujarat
The per-capita GDP of India is $1,581.29 as of 2015. Would you believe that the per capita GDP of a single village in Kutch in Gujarat is $12,000? We are referring to Madhapar village in Kutch. Located at about 3 km from Bhuj, Madhapar is the richest village in Asia. This village boasts of bank deposits to the tune of more than Rs 1800 crores. Every bank in India has a branch in this village. The bank staffs do not need to canvass for any kind of deposits. Deposits can come walking into the branch at any time. No one ever takes any kind of loan from the banks in this village. You can find at least one car, if not more in every house. It does not matter whether anyone stays in the house or not. The house will have a car or two standing in the portico. The majority community of this village is the Patel community. They have their businesses in Kenya, the Gulf, the US, as well as the UK. For its sheer money power, Madhapar is the richest village in Asia. However, the villagers are very simple and straight forward by nature.
You have just seen the nine richest villages in India. You have a bonus waiting for you at the end. We have the cleanest village in Asia, Mawlynnong in Meghalaya. A simple walk around the village will give you an idea. You cannot find a single bit of paper or garbage on the streets or anywhere for that matter. No one smokes in the village and hence, there are no cigarette butts either. Plastic bags are banned in this village. This is the model village as far as cleanliness is concerned. Ralegan Siddhi in Maharashtra can run this village close as far as cleanliness is concerned.
We have just seen some amazing villages. India has dominated the scene completely in this particular Top 10 list. No other country in Asia has any representation in this list. This proves that India has its glorious moments under the sun as well. This is the beauty of India.