Editor,
I am certain that five years from now, traffic congestion in Shillong would have reached such an impasse that traffic would come to a literal standstill. I appreciate the efforts made by the City Traffic Police to ease the traffic congestion as much as they can from time to time. Kudos to our men and women in uniform for their hard work and patience! However, the situation is not going to improve and the problem will never be solved unless and until the government starts thinking out of the box. As a concerned citizen let me offer a few suggestions which I feel the government has the potential to implement. First of all, a fly-over in Polo Bazaar is a must. That place is growing at a faster rate than Khyndailad and invariably there is a traffic jam everyday. The location is well suited for a fly-over. The fly-over can begin from near Hotel Polo Towers and cut across to come out near the Guwahati bus stand. The fly-over can branch off to both sides at the middle joining with the Mawlai road and the Demseiniong road. Secondly, the government can encourage and help each locality in Shillong to construct a parking lot somewhere within the locality so that there would be no parking on the roadside. Often this is what causes traffic congestion. Thirdly, the government could speak with the Church regarding the possibility of constructing a multi-storey parking lot at Don Bosco Square so that vehicles ferrying students to the schools could be parked in without causing a jam for other commuters along the same road. Lastly, the government should already start a four-lane project along the road to New Shillong (Umsawli). It is a hard-dying habit of our leaders to sit and wait till the situation gets out of hand. I can see that houses are already popping up along this road and I hope that our present leaders will not repeat the mistakes of our past leaders.
Yours etc.,
B. Mawrie
Via email
Gang-rape in Delhi
Editor,
The glamourisation of philistine Bollywood, providing social sanction to dirty pictures bordering on pornography in the name of “art”, nudity and vulgar dancing in night clubs, scantily-clad pictures and shots of women in print and visual media have absolutely devastated the moral fabric of the society, which is hypocritical enough to “worship” women in the form of Shakti! Thanks to this crass commercialisation of female bodies, the upcoming generation is treating women merely as “sex objects”; leading to increasing incidents of eve-teasing, molestation and rapes. In this sorry perspective, the horrific sexual attack on the hapless Delhi girl is not entirely surprising. Unless the Censor Board and the relevant authorities act tough and terminate the shower of nakedness and obscenities in films, reality shows in TV, print media, billboards exploiting semi-naked feminine bodies to advertise even a gent’s shoe or shaving cream; no power in the world can prevent the moral corruption in society.
Moreover, instead of pursuing career-based education, stress needs to be given to value-based learning which would inculcate the adolescent minds with the sense of equality of sexes. Perhaps only when truly educated children who are enlightened enough to accord due dignity to women, come up, can the fairer sex realise their dream of dwelling in a violence-free society.
Lastly, while rapists should be awarded life-term sentence, brutes who dare to play with the modesty of the fairer sex need to be handed rigorous imprisonment of many years. Light sentence, if at all nabbed, is not enough to deter the monsters from engaging in such dastardly acts. Also it is high time we learn to appreciate that unless we ensure due honour, respect and security to the fairer sex; India and New Delhi cannot qualify to boast about Buddha Racing Tracks or successful hosting of Commonwealth Games.
Yours etc.,
Kajal Chatterjee,
Kolkata -114
MBOSE exams
Editor,
The recent ongoing Higher Secondary (Class XI) Promotion Examination, 2012 conducted by MBOSE for which the practical Examination for Commerce and Arts is included was scheduled to commence from December 17 and end by December 20, 2012. But it has come to my notice that the examination for certain schools had already concluded before the date notified by MBOSE. It’s a humble request to the MBOSE authority to kindly look into this matter and do the needful by surprisingly visiting the colleges and inspecting the seals of the question papers not only for the practical examination as well as for the Theory Papers. This should be done on regular basis for both HS XI and for Class IX from the coming session.
Yours etc.,
Subash Sharma,
Via email
Politics and business
Editor,
It’s very unfortunate to see our tribal businessmen entering into politics without having establishing a sound financial status. Our local people sing praises to their achievements and wealth without knowing how they have acquired that wealth. Perhaps it’s the desire to make more money by investing in politics that pushed them to contest elections. Also perhaps they are not really entrepreneurs and don’t really know how to do business. So their idea of entering politics is not to help the poor and needy. Besides, being in politics means investing public money in their own business! For decades our tribal businessmen have not succeeded in building financial capital or in building brands. As a layman, I must say I have never seen any product from Meghalaya’s being advertised in different electronic media, be it in NDTV, Times Now etc. And I’m sure entrepreneurship will never grow if one is aligned to a political party at the initial level. Only when the brand name and equity are well known throughout the length and breadth of our country like the Tatas and Birlas can people align with politics without serious consequences.
Yours etc.,
Aiborlang A Chyne,
Via email