Thursday, March 28, 2024
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Plight of taxi drivers

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Editor,

That Gautam Gurung had to make a plea for readers to know the plight of taxi drivers, shows the gravity of the matter. Apologies at the outset for this delayed rejoinder for I was too absorbed with the Radar-Cloud row. The performance of a Maruti 800 (the most efficient car) is 22 km/litre. This is the highway data. With the present traffic snarl in the city the data would drop to 8 km/litre. I did ask about the fare from Nongthymmai to Motphran and after analysis, the maximum profit for one way trip is Rs.30 without taking into account the maintenance cost. If ten trips per day are made it means Rs.300. With lunch, tea and breakfast it comes to Rs.220.

Now even domestic workers are at present paid Rs 400 per day with free food and tea. Taking this into account I do wonder how taxis are earning presently. To cushion the pain of joblessness parents buy taxis for their graduate sons. Traffic jams are not going to leave us for a number of years. The only solution, in my humble suggestion is to have a substantial increase in Shillong fares of radius 5 km (with General Post office as centre) and have some minor increase for long-distance trips. Let us also remember that D.A. increases and arrears from time to time are also meant for travelling expenses.

Yours etc.,

  1. Khyriem,

Shillong 14

Shocking crimes

Editor,

What had happened in national capital a few days back is dangerously shocking.  A small businessman Druv Raj Tyagi, a resident of Moti Nagar, West Delhi, was stabbed brutally last Sunday and died the next day. The reason was that the businessman’s daughter was regularly taunted and eve-teased by a group of boys in the locality. This has become a cause of serious concern for the girl and her family members. On that fateful night, the father was returning from the clinic with his daughter who was quite sick. When a gang of youths passed lewd remarks on the daughter, the father felt very hurt. He decided to approach the parents of one of the boys. The father of the boy,  Jahangir Khan, instead of pacifying Mr Tyagi and taking his son to task started hurling abuses at him. Immediately many other neighbours joined him and started thrashing Tyagi. In the meantime, Jahangir took out a knife and stabbed Tyagi multiple times in his abdomen. Hearing the loud cries of the father, the son, Anmol Tyagi immediately rushed to the spot. But Jahangir again attacked the boy with the same knife. Due to deep injuries to Tyagi’s liver, kidney, and intestines, he died on Monday while the son is still battling for his life.

Such cases of brutal attacks or sexual overtures on a particular community are increasingly happening across the country. No matter how heinous the crimes, they never become Kathua, nor do any leaders visit the scene of the crime to console the victims. No NGOs or so-called liberal groups of people come out in protest to condemn the incidents. This discrimination is now an inhuman trend.  It must be noted that it is not only women who are unsafe but the time is not far off when the entire humanity might be under threat.

Yours etc.,

Salil Gewali,

Shillong

 

Violence in Bengal

Editor,

Mamata Banerjee has become very restless! The reason is obvious. People tend to become worked up suddenly because of two reasons: one, success is coming; two, bad days are ahead. Judging by the body language and her indiscriminate throwing up of filthy and unconstitutional languages against a man who is holding the constitutional post of Prime Minister shows that something is seriously wrong with her. Lok Sabha elections are being held in the entire country but cases of large-scale violence are reported from Bengal only. What are the reasons? Actually, in my opinion, Mamata Banerjee herself could not imagine such a huge turn-out  in Bengal for the Lok Sabha election. As far as Bengal is concerned, some 60-65% of voting could be handled out but how could one control the tide to go in her favour when voting crosses 80% in every phase of the election? It seems that the people of Bengal are voting in large numbers out of anger. I am not sure, but perhaps anti-majority policies and all pervasive Syndicate-Raj in Bengal have something to do with it. But anyway, it cannot be denied that Mamata Didi has become very tense and, perhaps, fears that she might lose power in the near future. This fear has gripped her psyche completely.

Yours etc.,

PS Gupta,

Via email

 

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