Editor,
Apropos your editorial, ‘Who owns the highway’ (ST Oct 24, 2011) I agree with you on the need for the public to act and not allow the government to sweep this problem under the carpet. The increase in coal and cement production will result in worse jams this winter. I commend the traffic police who, within the limitations of available road space, have come up with several innovative ways to ease congestion to the extent possible. However, one wishes that the order of not allowing trucks to pass through the city between 7.00 AM and 9.00 PM is strictly imposed. Mobile traffic police should also be more vigilant in preventing adventurous drivers from creating even worse traffic jams in the Mawiong- Mawlai stretch through reckless overtaking.
Your comment on the need for the state government to expedite the completion of the Shillong by-pass is however misdirected. The four-lane and the by-pass projects are not projects of the state PWD, as are several other infrastructural and development projects in the state. The reason is simple. Unable to even meet the expenses of salaries of its oversized babudom, and that of its obscene number of political appointees, the State has no money left for development. We have seen how one highway after the other is being handed over to the NHAI even for maintenance and repairs, because the state is unable to do so. It is not the PWD engineers but the companies constructing the by-pass on behalf of NHAI which have disallowed the use of the incomplete by-pass, and for good reasons. If the road is used now, it will be impossible for the company to complete the project within the stipulated time.
There was a time when the repairs and resurfacing of PWD roads including highways was done in a certain cycle, and the public can count on that cycle of maintenance. Not anymore. I wonder what has happened. Are we moving forward with the rest of the country or backwards? Why is the Shillong – Guwahati highway not been resurfaced for several years now? Was it necessary for the PWD minister to survey the condition of the road before ordering for its immediate repair? What are the engineers doing all this while? Was it not part of their job to do all this in a timely manner? Or have these powers been taken away from them? What a sorry state of affairs.
Yours etc.,
R.Wahlang,
Via email
Fall from grace
Editor,
The controversy surrounding Bah Oflyn Dohling who till now was a respectable senior of our society is very disturbing and unfortunate. We have seen him since our youth as an idealist and custodian of the rich Khasi traditional rights as Rangbah Shnong, Secretary and then President Synjuk Ki Rangbah Shnong (SRS). Why this downfall? It is well known in our locality that he has allowed himself to be used and misused by the JN Bawri family, particularly Ramesh Bawri for many years to promote their business and other illegal activities, where Peter Rynjah, Rangbah Dong of Dhankheti who was a staff of JN Bawri family is fully involved. The truth has come out now. Ramesh Bawri kept Bah Oflyn in the front and manipulated him to carry out all sorts of undesirable activities. Bah Oflyn fell into the trap and even used his relatives in high official positions to help the Bawri family. Whose hotel was Bah Oflyn promoting? Ramesh Bawri even used Oflyn against his wishes to hold an illegal election of Shillong Club Board at Soso Tham auditorium in 2010 by making him a public witness although Bah Oflyn is not member of the Club as per records.
The intention, we came to know later, was an attempt to illegally take over portions of the golf club land as reported in the media few months back, in the same way land for Bawri Mansion was grabbed which is a peoples’ land. If anyone has the courage then Bawri mansion has to be demolished. There are many in power like Bah Oflyn who are used by business persons to grab land and engage in illegal activities. Our elders in traditional bodies, politicians and local bureaucrats must be aware or face shame and humiliation from our youth who to-day are not afraid to speak out openly against anti-people activities and misuse of power. The incident is an alarm bell for our ‘jaitbynriew’ to wake up. We symphatise with Bah Oflyn but the whole thing is his creation and he has to pay the price.
Yours etc.,
George Kharlyngdoh
Shillong -8