All for a drop extra
People running about with buckets, jars etc. in an ‘excitement embedded in frustration’, is a sight that repeats itself every time rains lash the city of Shillong, likes of which were at offer, when raindrops hit the pine city last week. The rhythmic sound of a thousand drops hitting against tin roofs, along with shrill calls made to the neighbourhood kid to rush the vessels underneath the passage of the roof is synonymous to such an occasion. It is surprising to note that for a host of Shillongites the recurring event is a part and parcel of their childhood memories. The only positive that one can drench under in such a situation is that memories are ‘watered’ and brought back to life every time this recurs. This aside, the dry prickly reality that lies here is that nothing much has been achieved to improve the water supply system in the city which receives decent, if not abundant rainfall. For all the money our legislators spent in their campaigns, timely action on basic necessities could save them a penny and more before the tamasha begins once again five years hence.
Count your children, before they board!
“Count your chickens, before they hatch” is the famous book by noted Delhi based management guru Arindam Chaudhuri, which deals with steps how to ensure success in the corporate world. But have you ever tried to apply the title of this book while availing the services of school buses, particularly the smaller variants in the city. It has come to the notice that kids are dumped like chickens inside these buses which are already in a pathetic condition. And because these, small kids who can’t complain about the pain they undergo inside these ‘dens’ and all taking advantage, that is actually where the title of this book comes into play. As a responsible parent and guardian, it is also their duty to check the number of kids inside the bus before availing their services. And as the new saying that goes in the city now, “In Meghalaya anything is possible”, these parents and guardians cannot expect the bus driver to be faithful with the number of kids inside this bus allowing them proper breathing space and movement since he had all along driven a local cabbie in the city roads pushing passengers like goats. God only knows when the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB) will start its school bus service that it announced last year to the jubilation of many parents. It looks like these SMB school buses have caught rust before actually taking off.
Post poll gimmicks
Post poll ‘bashing’ has been reported from numerous nooks and corners of the city. It has been reported that few commuters who were proceeding towards Khyndailad were bashed up black and blue by goons on the street after taking them out of the cabbie in which they were traveling. The poor residents who were going for shopping had to land up in a hospital following the Hindi Cinema style bashing by goons in street with spectators comprising the dummy audience. There are also reports of some rowdy bikers who went on a rampage in the oldest village of the city with bikes screaming from their engines in a rusty and hoarse manner. This trend is seen in some lanes and interior roads of this constituency as these bikes arrive by 9pm and disturb the residents with their annoying stunts till 12pm and sometimes till 1am in the morning. It disturbs the young and the old alike leaving people to spend sleepless nights. A resident from such an area said that despite the bikers creating such loud sounds through the lanes with the local police station nearby, none dares to do or say anything. It has come to light that the men in uniform were bribed by the losing legislator in order to carry on with his noisy stunts. The resident further said that if a candidate cannot win election does it mean that the voters are to be targeted. Then in such a case each voter should be allowed to cast 7 or 8 votes at a time so as to avoid being beaten up.