How does Meghalaya fare?
It will be interesting to know how Meghalaya fared in the recent study to identify the “Best Macroeconomic State of States” in the country by the India Today Group. The best state award was bagged by Madhya Pradesh (MP) where the chief minister on receiving the award said that the parameters of economic development in this central Indian state have been the welfare of people in the rural belt and weaker sections of society. MP a much bigger sized economy than Meghalaya has bagged the award for good governance whereas Meghalaya is lagging behind in every sphere of economic development for which the state government has only one answer “paucity of funds”. Whatever development is seen is centered around Shillong as if Meghalaya is only about Shillong! After the unearthing of the teachers’ recruitment scam a senior resident said the state needs a whistleblower like Arvind Kejriwal since the level of corruption here is no way less than anywhere else in the country.
Seasonal birds
Call it climate change or whatever but avid bird watchers in the city swear that they have seen new species of birds here in recent times. With autumn slowly turning to winter some birds from colder climes are here. A resident of Laban says some birds with beautiful plumage are sighted in his garden in the morning. Earlier the woodpecker used to be seen during this time of the year. The woodpecker, he says used to make a knocking sound at his window panes every afternoon possibly because there is no wood to peck. But the woodpecker, it is learnt has disappeared from here perhaps due to the diminishing green cover of Shillong. A frequent morning walker said that pelicans, swans and other migratory birds used to be seen earlier near the Ward’s Lake when there were very few visitors there but these are no longer seen. in the Shillong sky but they don’t migrate here anymore. Where is Shillong heading for one can visualize from these birds.
Name this fruit
This is the fruit of a plant that was brought to Shillong from Australia. The fruit which grows in someone’s home in Nongthymmai has attracted several new birds including the partridge. Since the birds seemed to enjoy the fruit the owner surmised that it would not be toxic. One day she tasted the fruit and shared it with some friends. One of them a foreign returned type said it was nice and sweet and tasted like Mangosteen. The grower says she would be willing to pay Rs 200 to anyone who can identify the fruit and find out its correct name. Any takers?