Leaving the worst behind
Potato chips come in colourful packs but are the worst residues of modern society. Then there are cans, plastic bottles, cigarette and gutka packets etc. which adorn the Ward’s Lake and our other tourist sites. Visitors to the lake carry with all kinds of eatables while boating and dump the waste into the lake. Although the workers clean up the water-body on a regular basis, they fight a losing battle.
In most public parks in India, visitors are not allowed to carry plastic bottles or eatables inside. They deposit them outside with a sum of money which is refunded when they exit the place. The Forest/Tourism Department should follow the same rules here and inform the public about through public address systems.
The problem is most people, including locals do not understand the difference between a park and a picnic spot. Last week a couple was seen having “lunch” in one of the boats after parking it on the banks of the lake opposite Tara Ghar. Its ridiculous! Perhaps the NGOs who were recently seen doing moral policing in these public places, must also police the visitors and teach them a thing or to about respect for the environment. Meanwhile the state government has only one excuse for all problems – manpower shortage!
Other pleasures of Independence Day
The customary bandh on 15 August always provides space for footballers, cricketers, cyclists and what have you. It’s also a welcome break from traffic jams and air pollution. This time young people from different parts of the city had a fun time with their bicycles and roamed freely as there was no fear of any trucks or other heavy vehicles running them down.
In some localities the youth even organized a bicycle race among themselves which provided rare delight to the onlookers. The scene was similar to a rally as scores of cyclists adorned every street in the city. Some one-way streets became two-way cycle tracks with cyclists flowing in from both directions.
Not to be left behind are kids who came out with their tricycles escorted by parents and grandparents. This is an innovative way of beating the bandh callers at their own game.
Are we a grouse-laden community?
Several hundreds of students from Meghalaya study outside the State these days. When the recent exodus triggered by some fake MMS hit the headlines, some students messaged over Facebook that people in the rest of India do not even know where Meghalaya is although they seemed to know Manipur and even respect the Manipuri students.
The Facebook friend at the other end of the line said, “Manipur has produced a Mary Kom, a Devendro Singh and a Bombayla Devi for the London Olympics. What has Meghalaya produced? But take heart, always carry a map of North East India and the day you are inducted into your class, put that map up and explain exactly where Meghalaya is.
That would also educate the ignorant. That’s what I have done many times when attending national and international conferences,” the spirited Facebook friend remarked. The response from the other end was, “Individuals cannot make a difference; we have to have like-minded people acting together?” Does this herd mentality afflict all tribals? Even when attending a funeral or bereavement we always have to go in pairs or not go at all. Why do we have so few trail blazers?