Bureaucrats still faceless?
Senior bureaucrats in the state very often remain inaccessible to the press as well as to the people.
While media persons claim they need to meet bureaucrats as part of their job, bureaucrats state their own case and say they remain busy at meetings. Perhaps the two need to work out a compromise timing as both need other.
Take the case of the Deputy Commissioner, Jaintia Hills, Tining Dkhar. Due to his “arrogant” behavior, the press has boycotted his public functions.
The third case is of PS Thangkhiew, Principal Secretary (Education). He is a wee bit better than the other senior bureaucrats in the sense that he receives call in his mobile only to say, “I don’t give comments over the phone”.
Commented one former bureaucrat, “If the press boycotts the DC Jaintia Hills it is no sweat for the babu because he can get away with anything without media scrutiny. It is the public that suffers when a bureaucrat’s actions are not critiqued.
Uproar
The riots that took place recently in London are attributed to the British Government’s austerity measures like, job cuts and increased taxation and the growing gap between rich and poor.
Such a scenario could hit the Indian subcontinent and closer home the region including Shillong – where the gap between the have and have nots is getting bigger.
The ugly days of food riots that hit Africa are well documented and now the riots in London.
Inflation is hitting the poor like a ton of bricks. As someone from the town who has seen the pre-independence days said that after the independence of the country from British colonialism, the years of Congress misrule have destroyed the nation more than it was during the pre-independence days.
Some of the houses of retired bureaucrats (neighbor’s envy, owner’s pride) are actual testimonies of the scale of corruption in Meghalaya.
The craze for colleges outside
At a recent interaction between NEHU bigwigs and the media, the Registrar made an important comment.
He said that the School of Technology, NEHU is equal to the best in the country but the problem with students from Meghalaya and the region is that they prefer to join a non-descript college with no infrastructure somewhere in Maharashtra, Karnataka or Tamilnadu where there are no hostel facilities.
But human nature is such that the other side of the fence always appears green. Students and their parents feel they are a class apart when they announce that they are studying outside the State or region. How do you buck this trend?
Great Indian destructive mentality
With the commencement of the SPTS bus service in the city people are relieved of the stress of commuting in crowded taxis.
But some miscreants seem hell bent on running down the services pronto! Some no-do-gooders have torn the seat covers with sharp instruments, scraped the paint from the bus body besides breaking its window panes.
The moral of the story is that these buses need proper, secure sheds which should be well guarded at night. Vigilance is important for the survival of the SPTS service.