Editor,
We have to praise the brave Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir for speaking out and opposing the draconian Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) with all his might. The North Eastern States would have benefited greatly had our Chief Ministers too had the vision to collectively oppose this piece of legislation which has caused so much misery to the common people caught literally between the devil and the deep sea.
Yours etc.,
Dr. Tridib Kakoty
Lumdiengsoh,
Shillong -14
Langpih – a forgotten issue?
Editor,
I personally feel that the boundary dispute with Assam will remain as elusive as the new Assembly building. What is really amusing is that both Assam and Meghalaya are run by the Congress party and even ‘Madam’ cannot step in and mediate between the two states. As a citizen of Meghalaya I have given up hope that the vexed boundary dispute will ever be resolved. I can recall during the last Assembly elections of our state, a very concerned Health Minister of the Gogoi Government Mr. Himanta Biswa Sarma while on a visit to Shillong to campaign for the Congress party, later spoke to a group of media people wherein he urged the people of Meghalaya to vote the Congress for all round development and more precisely for the ‘boundary issue’ since having a Congress regime here would make things easier since Assam is also run by the Congress. What Biswa Sarma implied was that the vexed boundary dispute would be solved amicably, just like a family dispute. Now whether those words were uttered in the interests of the party or for the both the states, I am not sure because it is believed that as Revenue Minister Biswa Sarma himself stoked the fires of conflict along the Langpih border. But those words spoken by a senior Congressman should carry weight since it was part of the campaign. So, our respected Chief Minister should rise up, be firm and bring a lasting solution so that we don’t see other Langpihs happening in other areas bordering Assam. Should “Madam” not mediate between her children(states). Let this concerned issue see the light of the day.
Adilbert Dkhar
Shillong-3
Delay is fatal
Editor,
Each time I take a stroll at the busiest and happening spots of the city like Police Bazaar, Laitumkhrah, Bara Bazar etc my heart sinks. One thought goes through my mind which is dreadful and disturbing – “What will Shillong be like after another 2 years? With the growing number of vehicles and tourists flowing in, there appears to be no solution to accommodate all the movables. Whereas in big cities like Bangalore, New Delhi etc there are enormous ways to ease traffic congestion like construction of flyovers, underpasses, metro rails, road widening etc, such exercises do not seem viable or practical in this small and rapidly growing and congested city like Shillong. Nevertheless there has to be some solution which not only needs planning but execution too at the earliest.
There are some other projects with which the government is involved in lately like beautifying Police Bazaar and so on, whereas curbing the traffic menace is the need of the hour. And in corporate terms, prioritising things according to its need and urgency is the strategy the state should follow.
I would also like to remind all that we should not be caught in a situation at the later stage where we have the resources and solution but we are not able to execute and implement them any longer because of delayed action.
Yours etc.,
Varun Choudhary,
Via email