The unusual and sor 
did habit of people
who are on a ‘white washing mission’, rubbing lime almost everywhere, has created a negative impact on the beauty and cleanliness of Shillong besides leaving a bad impression on the tourists.
This habit of rubbing lime on walls, electric posts, doors, pillars and other places is a common practice among the paan, kwai or tobacco chewing population, who rub the excess lime anywhere they care without considering its aftereffects.
“Rubbing lime is not new, it is visible mostly on the walls and pillars located near tea shops and other small shops,” observed a Shillongite.
This scribe, who had recently participated at a programme where Chief Minister Dr Mukul Sangma unveiled the foundation stone of the Shillong beautification project last month, found that the very stone has been besmirched by unconcerned persons who rubbed lime on it.
The Shillong Municipal Board (SMB), in its bid to improve the cleanliness of the city, has taken up many steps like imposing fines, providing dustbins, sanctioning municipal trucks and other such initiative but this is one area which still remains to be tackled.
“It’s funny and I don’t know what is wrong with some people. They are driven to do just the opposite of what is restricted like in this case, rubbing lime on places where a notice board with big bold letters has been hanged,” a student said mockingly.
Meanwhile, SMB Chief Executive Officer T Lyngwa said, “This practice is something that requires awareness as there is no such law whereby we can impose fine on people rubbing lime on walls or pillars.
“I think we can overcome this problem only if we can make the people understand the impact their habits. Awareness is very important in this case and it is not easy to do it on a single night as this is one unusual practice which can be restrained only with the sustained cooperation among the people and authority,” Lyngwa added.
For now, it seems like it would definitely take a long time for people to get rid of this practice so that the famous punch line “Keep Shillong Clean and Green” may turn into a reality.