Editor,
Everyone believes that overtaking by errant drivers is the most common cause behind traffic jams in the city. Some blame the Government for not regulating traffic. But no one has made a holistic and scientific study of the problem. Earlier it used to take just 5 minutes to get a cab from Police Bazar to Bishnupur; now it takes over an hour. I have noticed that the traffic problem worsens when trucks ply during the day time. This is where Government comes in. Trucks should not be allowed to ply through the city in the day time. Trucks not only take up space and congest the roads but they also slow down all other traffic. From Nongthymmai down to Dhankheti all vehicles must follow the trucks that grunt and creak down the road at zero speed. The Shillong Traffic Police (STP) now has decided not to ‘spare the rod’ anymore against anyone involved in rash driving and overtaking. But will this alone solve the traffic jams? The Traffic Police have also warned that they would issue ‘on the spot’ summon slips to vehicles which overtake during traffic jams. Will this apply to all ministers, VIPs and self- declared VIPs, or is it only for common people? We need the same regulations for all.
Yours etc.,
Leoberth Rongmuthu Sangma
Shillong Law College
Priesthood a noble vocation
Editor,
Apropos the letter titled “Degraded profession (ST January 16, 2012) I would agree with the guardians on this. Priests should be untainted at heart and should present themselves as persons with high ideology and values. However, some fail to do so. They make the profession a mere source of income. The letter by Parimal Bhattacharjee has indeed been an eye opener. These activities in turn bring ignominy and loss of trust .Such womanizers should be taught a lesson. They shouldn’t forget the duties they have been vested by the society. If such activities are continued no girl /woman will be safe. They will tend to fall into the clutches of such hypocrites thinking he’s a priest. It’s appalling that such people are still hired! I personally was stunned seeing the record of this priest.
I request all concerned to boycott this priest rather than keep mum thereby giving him a chance to fool around with young lives and get away with it. And I would also appeal to the persons who once upon a time fell prey to his fatality to be bold and teach him a lesson so that he thinks twice before taking such reprehensible steps again.
It’s a shame that such philanderers are still entertained by the society. They should not forget that they are the custodians of Dharma and are supposed to practice sanctity and love for humanity- not love for women! Due to such disgraceful acts of a single person, all the priests might be looked down upon. Hence to prevent such a thing from happening it’s my sincere appeal to Parimal Bhattacharjee to name the person so that all become alert of him. I believe the dearth of priests is not so much that womanizers need to be employed in this noble vocation and pollute it. I would also like to request the responsible people of various Puja pandals to go through the past records of the priests before employing them to perform any Pujas or Yagnas as Pujas or Yagnas mark sacredness and should be performed by people aloof of impurity of heart and mind.
Yours etc, A.S. Choudhury
Shillong-2
II
Editor,
In response to the letter written by Parimal Bhattacharya (ST June 16, 2012) in your esteemed daily in which he has commented on the activities of a priest from Laban, I want to mention here that the professional activity of a person should never be mixed up with his personal life unless the latter hampers the performance of the former. Firstly, I fail to understand the reason for the monopoly of a particular caste in performing a religious duty(as everyone is equal before God) and secondly if a person is performing his religious rituals in a decent way according to religious laws we should not be bothered about what he does in his personal life. As far as the priest from Laban is concerned, I personally know him and I don’t have any knowledge about him being a womanizer as alleged. As a young chap he can have girlfriends so long as he does not abuse them. In which page of our religious book is it written that a priest cannot be friendly with girls. If that were the case then none of the priests should even get married like the strict laws followed in the Catholic denomination of Christianity. Gone are the days where old people wearing dhotis and carrying an umbrella would be called for performing religious rituals. Mr Bhattacharya needs to understand that performing puja is the profession of a purohit and as far as my knowledge goes he does it with full dedication and concentration maintaining all the religious principles. After that whatever he does is his personal concern as long as those actions are not vulgar and do not affect the society. Moreover, no one has the right to snatch away someone’s bread and butter by writing such comments on the priest.
Yours etc.,
Premankur Dam
Shillong-4