Editor,
February 28 was D-day for the three north-eastern states that went to the polls. I was eagerly waiting for the poll results and had my eyes glued to the national channels but it was a huge disappointment. They were busy with the budget and had no time absolutely for the important election results of these small states in this part of the country. I remember clearly the way the same channels covered the poll results of the states like Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh etc., and calling it a mini general elections with extensive coverage and comprehensive debates. I wish to ask Arnab Goswami, Prannoy Roy and Rajdeep Sardesai whether the states of Meghalaya, Nagaland and Tripura are not part of the Indian Republic and were these also not elections conducted democratically by the Election Commission of India? Why this step motherly treatment meted out to this part of the country? Are we not part of the nation that deserves a coverage in the national channel? It was heartening to see the DD news giving some coverage . I was amused to see the NDTV towards late evening giving some news of Tripura with visuals from Kohima. Geography does not seem to be their strong point. The coverage by DD North-east was most lousy to watch and really far too slow. I hope in the future such gross neglect will not be repeated. The budget needed covering but there was ample time also to assign adequate time to this important news for these states.
Yours etc.,
Devasia Vazhayil
Via email
Retrieving our environment
Editor,
It’s been a long time since I travelled on the GS road, especially since the four laning work started. My nostalgic memories of this road are of a lot of greenery and a few babbling streams and the lovely waterfall that could be seen when we were nearing Umran. I talk about the days when we travelled back home from college in the mainland. As soon as we left Guwahati (‘Gauhati’ in those days), our hearts used to swell with pride as we travelled up. We already felt we were home by merely touching the boundaries of our green state. All the weariness of three days of tiresome and mostly obnoxiously smelly second class rail travel through the dry plains of sweltering UP, Bihar etc were suddenly forgotten by the sheer sight and sweet, fresh smell of ‘home’. We were proud when our friends came over and the first thing they would comment was the ‘lovely road leading to your beautiful city’.
I was pained, as I traveled down to Guwahati and then back to Shillong, at the sheer scale of defacing of my ‘beautiful’ land along the GS road. I saw JCBs literally pushing down trees and jaggedly ripping off branches and whatever came in their way. I saw mountains of earth dumped ad lib and dust all over. Even the small streams seemed turbid and sad. I was rudely reminded of the films I saw of Hitler’s rule and the wanton “cleaning up” and especially the helplessness and submission of the Jews to a power they could not at that time counter in any way, as they were shepherded to the gas chambers or to one of the many devious and ingenious methods to obliterate them. True, we need to move with the times and true we need the four lane road too – but could we please do it with due respect to the fragile environment and not with an almost dictatorial high hand. Like I said, we need the highway, and kudos to the government for bringing it about, but we also need to think about the environment and, maybe, after we have spent so much on the road a negligible amount could also be spent on the landscaping. I say this because I was appalled to see in one place, along the road, that extensive wire netting was being installed along the wall. I have seen this in Himachal Pradesh where such netting is put up and then they come with huge machines and spray cement over the netting. This serves to re enforce the walls but makes a hideous picture.
I would like to propose to the powers that be that while the JCBs are still around, the massive walls that have come up should be excavated to slope backwards into the hills and that the slope be made in such a way as to make terraces as the slope goes back. This will not only serve the purpose of stabilizing the walls but the terraces could, in due course of time, be cultivated. These terraces could be given over to the Agriculture/Horticulture departments to make the best use of them. An even better option would be that small stretches of the terraces could be leased out to the educated unemployed/ interested NGOs or farmer groups who could meaningfully cultivate fruit trees, pineapples, flowers, strawberries etc which the visiting tourists would only be too happy to buy. If this is seriously taken up the entire stretch of the GS Road would be one beautiful and pleasant drive while providing meaningful employment. We would then have our four lane highway and we would also restore the beauty of the landscape and, for sure, we would be an example to the country.
Yours etc.,
Glen Fletcher Nongkynrih,
Via email