By Albert Thyrniang
Based on the views of experts and prominent citizens in the state capital, “All was not well” and “Expectations are high”, published on the last day of 2012 were excellent reports. They provided ample food for thought. Let me share mine on some of the points expressed in the above news reports. The reality check indeed shows that all was not in 2012. Not just 2012 but the years preceding it too were not great shakes as far as governance is concerned. The thought uppermost in the minds of many right now is the elections 2013. Between the last election and this election we have become worse. In these five years we have not made much progress; in fact we have regressed on all aspects. We feel we are in the ICU!
Recently I sort of toured the whole state. Except one district, I did cover all the other districts. I saw some of the most backward and interior areas. It is amazing I did not find a single good road anywhere. Those whom I met told me the same thing. Even after more than 40 years of statehood, there is not a single stretch of good road in the whole of Meghalaya, except in Shillong, of course. (Shillong is not part of Meghalaya). ‘Pathetic’ does not describe the condition of our roads. One road seems to be worse than the other one. There is no repair anywhere for years. The only new road connections are by the villagers themselves through the central scheme, the NREGS, commonly known as job card, though in most villagers JCBs are (illegally?) employed. Nowhere by PWD! Where is the government? Where is the PWD (roads) minister? Where is the PWD? What is it doing? Earlier much had been written about it. Is its only job to indulge in corruption? Where are other ministers? Where are our public representatives?
The quality of education (represented by the state capital) has steadily but surely been declining. Forget about being an educational hub (capital) of the North East, Shillong has brought only shame and scams in recent months. Powerful ministers and influential politicians even ordered ever willing bureaucrats to carry the files to their residence, deleted the names of deserving candidates with correcting fluid and overwrote them with undeserving ones using ‘permanent markers’. We have institutions whose heads are unavailable and inaccessible causing grave inconvenience and mental anxieties to parents and guardians. We have reputed educational institutions whose teachers are a ‘terror’ to students. We even have respected educationists teaching gambling to students in school campuses.
Law and order has worsened alarmingly, particularly in Garo Hills. Militant outfits are mushrooming in the region. These groups thrive on extortion. Though the biggest catches are in the coal belts, demands for money using written notes and SMSs are made to very ordinary villagers. Fear persisted even during the festive season of Christmas and New Year. Now there is a danger of fratricide. Earlier, warring militant outfits used to throw verbal venom at each other. Now they start showering bullets at each other. The enmity is likely to intensify as elections draw near. As the GNLA is an avowed supporter of the Congress, the ANVC (B) has to supports its rivals. Bloodshed is not ruled out. To add to the complication, the HNLC has announced its comeback. In addition to the fragile law and order situation the surrendered HNLC led by Julius Dorphang, the friend of the Congress party has forcefully and illegally ‘occupied’ vast coal fields in Jaintia Hills creating fear psychosis in the district.
The environment has been depleting alarmingly especially in coal and cement belts. The effects of unscientific mining has degraded and polluted the soil, atmosphere and the biosphere. Water bodies are damaged to such an extent that fishes and aquatic biodiversities have become extinct. The dangerous rat-hole method has killed hundreds of labourers. The new mining policy has refused to ban it because mines are owned by politicians. The coal belts are also notorious for influx of foreigners and immoral activities. Illegal deforestation for timber and charcoal has turned the once enviable forest cover in the state almost bare. West and South West Khasi Hills has bore most of the brunt.
In the above news items, a few expressed their concern about the widening gap between the haves and the haves-not. The haves (a tiny percentage) are mainly the public representatives, the contractors close to MLAs and MPs and the unscrupulous bureaucrats and higher government officers. They have amassed ill-gotten wealth in record time. Corruption is bottle necked. They have built mansions with imported marbles, acquired lands worth lakhs and crores at more than one place and fortified them with high and thick walls, decorated their courtyards with luxurious red light vehicles. The vast majority of the population is becoming poorer and poorer. They continue to be deprived of development. They have not reaped the fruits of government schemes. Though they need the most they get the least but those who need the least get the most.
Rapes and crime against women have become the order of the day. Yes, we are aghast at the cruelty of crime perpetuated on the 23 year old Delhi girl who breathed her last in Singapore. May her soul rest in peace! In our own state too the same crimes are a regular if not a daily occurrence. Stronger laws with harsh punishment are being demanded including capital punishment and castration. This is also a societal sickness. There is a rapid degradation of values. One of the reasons for rape and sexual violence is the easy accessibility of pornography. Young school children and college students view them in the internet. They download them in mobiles. They also copy them from mobile shops that copy MP3 songs. It’s a world of Sodom and Gomorah out there! These filthy pictures and films corrupt the mind and the effect is disastrous. There is an urgent need to tackle this menace by parents, educators, religious leaders and others if rapes and sexual abuses are to stop.
Can we hope for a better future and a better Meghalaya in the coming year? Is our future bleak or bright? Can we hope that things will be better in 2013? Will we get better representatives after the elections who will work for the common good? Will we have a better government with vision and direction? We have high expectations. But who will fulfill them? We have hopes. But how realistic are those hopes?