Lonely on the dais
At a function to launch the website of a certain religious organization in the city recently, the chief guest arrived an hour late. The VIPs in invited were AL Hek, Manas Chaudhuri, BM Lanong and Dr BB Dutta. The first two were the first to arrive at the ceremony. After waiting for about half an hour for the chief guest Lanong, the function started off with Hek and Chaudhuri only. But it so happened that Hek had another meeting to attend to. He excused himself saying, “I urge my Borda (elder brother, referring to Mr Manas Chaudhuri) to take the proceedings ahead since I have to leave. ” Finally, a lonely Manas Chaudhuri was left on the dais. He tried to cover up for his colleagues saying these days people are under pressure to attend sundry meetings and public service that they hardly have any time for god, Dharma etc. As he was extending his speech, a tired looking Lanong arrived with Dr Dutta and gave company to Chaudhuri. Lanong was then called to speak but the compere forgot to invite Dr Dutta to speak although he was also a listed speaker. Things are taking a toll not only on politicians but also on organisers of functions who are kept waiting for the chief guest to turn up.
Orderly traffic: is it possible?
In the past, the day of immersion of Goddess Durga is marked by traffic chaos and disorder but this time there was complete order. Those coming from Guwahati to Shillong were surprised not to find any traffic jams. There are some functions that intimidate the public because of the jams they cause. For instance the Meghalaya Tourism Development Forum (MTDF) sponsored programmes at Orchid Lake Resort every year cause horrendous traffic jams. People are beginning to discuss if the scene would be similar this time around (Nov 3&4). Said a regular traveller on the Shillong- Barapani road, “ This time the Umiam bridge is under repair so only one side of the road can be used at a time. With revellers and youngsters who pride themselves on overtaking others all on the road, it remains to be seen how the Traffic Police manage things. Last year some people had suggested to the MTDF to shift their grand finale to some other better location which would not cause inconvenience to anyone but this idea seems to have been shot down. MTDF honchose should read the book, “Who killed Change” by Ken Blanchard.
Is the Forest Dept blind?
Shillong Jottings travelled to Ri Bhoi district during the Puja holidays and was appalled to see jeep loads of timber being carried away from areas like Mawlyndep, Umsaw- Khwan etc. On going a little deeper into Mawlyndep SJ came upon this sawmill – evidently one without a license. And that very close to the Umiam Lake. If pine trees are felled at this rate around the Lake it is a matter of time before the eco-system begins to complain.