By Toki Blah
On the 21st of January the dailies of Meghalaya would probably be carrying front page advertisements of the State celebrating its 40th Birthday. Huge front page Government advertisements, lauding the many (real and imaginary) achievements of the state. VVIPs will, with grim solemnity and glum formality announce their pledge of undying and unblemished allegiance to democracy and its principles. We will be reminded of how lucky we are to have leaders who burn the midnight oil; who sweat and toil; and who spare no effort in their untiring zeal to bring in a sense of well being to everyone. We would also be piously advised not to forget our past and our traditions (of course there would be no mention about the future as no one really knows or cares about the next generation or for that matter what happens the next day! ) We would then be exhorted to rise to the occasion and to join hands with our dear leaders to give our best for the growth and development of Meghalaya. Perhaps April 1st would have been a more appropriate day for such tall stories but for Meghalaya one day is as good as the other. That’s life!
So how are Meghalayans coping with their lives? The answer has two versions. Our politicians and their political parties believe that there is absolutely nothing wrong with either Meghalaya or its people. Everything is honky dory and if anyone says otherwise they are lying. Meghalaya according to our political elite is a care free society; the abode of happy people with not a worry in the world. Contented, enlightened citizens whose only expectation is the amount they will be paid for their votes in 2013. The telescopic world view of our politicians. On the other side of the fence, the ordinary people of Meghalaya have a different take on what’s wrong with everyday life. People without hope, struggling to make ends meet are rapidly losing faith in the system. If yesterday is History; tomorrow a mystery; today is hopelessness! Actually most of us are quite bewildered as to what Meghalaya is all about? As of today it seems that the Hill State our parents fought for, has come about simply to enforce the dictum that Might is Right. One is right if one has money; money bestows political power; therefore the rich are powerful and therefore they must be right! Surviving on this perverted logic, in 40 years an egalitarian society transformed into an oligarchy, where the business interest of a few rich men prevail over the concern of the ordinary citizen.
Let’s take movement on our highways for example. Bah Wendell Passah’s revealing “Highway under stress” ST Jan 10th 2012 says it all. The highways of Meghalaya are slowly choking; our road infrastructure collapsing; national highways 40 and 44 turning into death traps for the unwary traveller. It’s impossible for ordinary persons, without police pilots, to move within Meghalaya. It takes more than 3 hours drive from Mawiong (Mawlai) to Iewduh ( distance 3 Km) and more than 25 years to build the Shillong Bye Pass. Without proper planning, more than 30 thousand trucks, 18 thousand of them coal and cement trucks, pass daily through the narrow streets of Shillong and Jowai. Lives have been lost; unnecessary trauma caused to emergency patients on their way to hospital; man days and hours needlessly lost but who cares? As a people, we are held hostage, captive, prisoners or whatever by truck drivers! Reality is that, since it doesn’t affect the leadership, the problem is deemed non existent. In any self respecting democracy, a special session of the State Assembly would, by now, have been convened to debate on the issue; to find a solution to the common man’s nightmare. In Meghalaya our elected representatives are unconcerned about the predicament of the amm admi. The invitation from Vietnam, Malaysia and Bangkok offer better entertainment than the problems of the electorate. No matter that in 2013 these privileged tourists will come begging for another chance “to serve” their constituencies. ( God, lets hope criticism of MLA mis demeanour does not trigger another spate of Breach of Privilege summons)
There is another possible reason, other than dumb insensitivity, that makes our elected representatives shy away from addressing Meghalaya’s traffic problems. The SC ruling on 9 tonnes may not exactly be the reason. It may lie somewhere else. It probably has more to do with nepotism and partiality to trucks, than anything else. Most of these trucks are owned by our politicians themselves or if not theirs, then by the people who finance them and their political parties during election time. Our elected representatives are simply puppets dancing to the tune called by their coal and cement masters, and the call seem to be -“don’t ever do anything to harm the interest of the coal and cement coterie”. The people; their interests and even their lives can go to hell. It is not the ordinary people who matter in Meghalaya politics. It is the moneyed elite who finance elections who call the shots. Not only the Government but the entire political class dance to their tune. Why else this total political silence over Meghalaya traffic jams? While celebrating the birth anniversary of democratic Meghalaya, aspects of oligarchy and nepotism outshine every other achievement of the last 40 years.
Now if elected MLAs refuse to address the traffic problems of Meghalaya, it does not mean the problem will solve itself. As a matter of fact it will simply deteriorate further as – “wait for the bye pass and the fourlaning to complete themselves” constitute the only official response to the problem. When will this happen, no one knows, but a distinct possibility exists that it might take another 25 years! In the meantime, Dear citizens please exercise patience, as more and more vehicles pour onto your narrow roads. More of you will likely die from being hit by rampaging trucks; some of you, on your way to hospital, will most probably not make it unless the traffic clears; students will miss their exams, but please don’t mind. Please give right of way to the coal trucks. They are the back bone of a black political economy (illegal checkgate collection of Rs 1500 per truck, which comes to more than 2.7 crores per day, but never shown as Govt receipts). They incidentally also finance Meghalaya elections. Good citizens, please don’t sabotage the electoral process by objecting to the plying of coal trucks. After all, the democratic process of elections, however meaningless, needs to be carried out! (Dear God in Heaven, why do we have to tolerate this shit ?)
What Meghalaya needs is an immediate solution to its traffic problems. There will be no single, brilliant solution but relief will come from implementing a series of small but practical steps. First among these is to have the political will to order the police to tow away all trucks plying without proper documentation.( registration, drivers licence etc) There are thousands such trucks that belong to people who believe they have political connections and therefore cannot be touched. Take away this political protection; let the rule of law prevail and half the trucks currently plying our highways will disappear. Simple! Secondly, accept that we have narrow, twisting hill roads that are not meant to cater to the heavy traffic ( 12 wheelers, 40 and 100 wheelers !!!!) they are subjected today. Such heavy vehicles, unsuitable for our type of roads should not be allowed to ply. God Damm it, have the political spine to enforce such a decision. Again, simplicity itself! Thirdly, coal and cement trucks from Jaintia Hills are commercial vehicles, carrying non essential cargo. Let them use the Ratachera-Badarpur route. This will automatically free NH 40 and 44 of their current heavy traffic. This should be done in Public Interest. Sec 144 CRPC can be invoked. Again very Simple, but it will help traffic management, giving a big relief to our harassed traffic cops; small car commuters; the common citizen and everyone in general. It will provide immediate relief till the fourlaning and the Byepass are completed. Can we expect a democratic Government to take these citizen friendly steps to help solve a major traffic problem? Lets not wait for things to spin out of control before we act. Political one-up-manship is OK but what is desperately needed is visionary statesmanship!
(The author is the President of ICARE, a Civil Society organisation that focuses on issues of Good Governance.)