If VVIPs can lose their luggage then the ordinary citizen can expect worse. On Sunday, Feb 19, Meghalaya Governor RS Mooshahary’s luggage could not be traced at Guwahati airport.
Mooshahary was returning from the Delhi along with his family on a Jet Airways flight. The incident coincided with the visit of Union Home Minister P Chidambaram.
The Governor’s entourage waited for hours at the airport to get some news about his missing luggage but in vain.
The Governor meanwhile rushed back to Shillong to catch up with the Union Home Minister. At the time of jotting this piece, the Governor’s Secretary informed that the luggage is still untraced and that the Jet Airways people are now not even picking up calls. If they do pick up calls then their standard reply is “We are on the job trying to locate the baggage.”
So much for private airlines! The Governor should now approach the consumer court. The Governor’s Secretary commented wryly, “Not everything is hunky dory about private airlines.” He recalled that a friend’s baggage which was similarly misplaced by Indian Airlines last December was later traced and returned intact, albeit after a month.
The Indian Airlines staff were apparently very courteous and their attitude helpful.
A record of sorts
Many might think that taxi drivers would have become more humane after facing stiff competition from the Government owned Shillong Public Transport System (SPTS) and maxi cabs but they are very wrong.
Taxi drivers are still very whimsical about picking up passengers and taking them to their destination of their choice. A passenger who tried to reserve a cab from Rynjah up to Fire Brigade was repeatedly rebuffed.
Taxi drivers prefer to overload their cabs and charge Rs 10 -15 per passenger from Rynjah to Nongthymmai or Rynjah to Fire Brigade.
Even the Government has failed to set a ceiling beyond which taxis cannot overcharge.
They continue to fleece the hapless passengers at will. Wonder what sort of disciplinary measures can be used against errant taxi drivers!
In the cover of darkness
Thefts have gone up in recent times in all localities. In a locality of Nongthymmai some young men were found cutting water pipes at 3 am when the whole world was asleep. But the person who caught them in the act was a drunk who could barely stand. He only muttered some swear words which only he could understand but that was enough to send the two thieves scrambling for cover.
The drunk meanwhile tried to call the Headman but his hands were so shaky he ended up calling the wrong person who swore at him for waking him up at that unearthly hour.
The next morning the neighbours found the cut pipes lying by the roadside and wondered who had done the deed. The drunk explained that he had caught two guys in the act. “Then why didn’t you catch them?” the neighbours thundered. For the drunk it’s a classic case of ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t.’
Lady Veronica Lane
The dilapidated condition of Lady Veronica Lane in Laitumkhrah continues to haunt its residents and others who use this lane on a daily basis. Vehicles passing that way create a sand-storm and the vehicles must necessarily go for a body wash else they are not presentable. While Laitumkhrah is said to be a posh locality and an educational hub a walk along Lady Veronica Lane tells a different story. There is garbage strewn about and the drains are stinking of methane. Last winter the local legislator said she would start the renovation work on this lane after the ongoing final examination then. But long after the examinations are over and the next examinations are due the condition of the Lane remains unchanged. There was some drainage works in the recent past but that has left the lane in a worse shape. However, one wit commented that it does not need the MLA to point out to the PWD what needs repair and what doesn’t. The Department should keep its eyes open and engineers should do their jobs without being pushed to the wall. Unfortunately now the PWD only moves like a puppet wherever the string-pulling is the strongest.