Editor,
Apropos the letter Sonnie Kharduit, (ST April 26, 2013) a name not familiar in these columns as far as I can remember, I will not pass any comment because I find it self- contradictory. On the arguments made by Charles Lyngdoh (ST April 30, 2013) that, “I lay the blame squarely on the shoulders of the govt. for all it’s failures..”, may I remind him of the comments made by Dr. Mukul Sangma as reported by the press last year, after the swearing in of three of his cabinet ministers where he said, “Meghalaya in comparison with developed states in India is years behind and in comparison with developed nations of the world, we are centuries behind.” If this does not speak volumes of the failure of successive governments in the state, then what will?
If my letter was read with due diligence it would have been clear that I never mentioned about the “KSU surviving on public donations alone.” Please do not mislead the readers just for the sake of criticism. The KSU, has through the years produced leaders in different fields of activity. I agree that those who are and have been in the political arena have not performed to the satisfaction of many, but with more constructive criticism I’m sure, if they are committed to serve the state, they will improve their performance. For those who have just entered politics, they have yet to prove themselves. But with the changing times, it is also time for the KSU to reinvent it’s strategy to make it a more effective pressure group but also sensitive to public opinion to strengthen public support.
In the long run, the challenge before all NGOs and individuals concerned with our state’s development is to strive forward despite all our failings and shortcomings. With God given talents, rich resources and constructive criticism we will help build the Khasi community into a strong and resourceful community and a pride of the country.
Yours etc.,
Michael N. Syiem,
Via email
Sharing environment lessons learned
Editor,
I went through your report on Shillong Municipal Corporation’s plan for waste management. They are planning to put to six pilot plants in March 2013. I am from Pune city which has the highest consciousness of waste management and have experimented with several new initiatives. From the lessons learned after 30 years of waste management, I would request the Shillong Municipality to review their decision about STPs (STP in chemistry is the abbreviation for Standard Temperature and Pressure. STP most commonly is used when performing calculations on gases, such as gas density). Pune has 15 STPs and the result is 5 dead rivers with zero DO (Dissolved Oxygen) I am coming to Shillong on May 14 and would like to meet with the municipal authorities to give insights on lessons learned, so that you can stop repeating the mistakes we have made. Please feel free to call me or send emails. Do take it as one of the urgent issues to meet Eco-sustainability around us.
Yours etc.,
Susan Raj,
Via email ([email protected])
Phone: 09371007716
Harassing the consumer
Editor,
The people of the North Eastern region extensively use the internet to stay updated with the world and also mainland India. Tata Docomo had a widespread number of customers in this region that provided internet connection until January 2013. Without any prior notice, the company withdrew their services from the region leaving a great number of their users aghast. On April 30 I, being a previous user of Tata Docomo, got a call on my mobile from an investigation officer of Delhi saying that a Cheating and Fraud Case has been filed against me by Tata Docomo for my overdue bill of a little more than a thousand rupees and that if I do not clear the amount in the next one hour a new case would be registered in my name. I was shocked and quickly went to the Tata Docomo centre here in Shillong only to find out that there were many such people who were in the same plight as me. These people had also received such calls that distressed them. I, along with the other people cleared the pending amount.
What makes me angry is, whether the company before withdrawing its services, give the customers any prior notice? If a case was at all registered against the huge number of customers, were we given any prior legal notice? Was it correct on the investigation officer’s part to mentally harass so many people? Could Tata Docomo not have explained the matter to its customers instead of threatening them with court cases? On the contrary we the costumers should have field a case in the consumer court for the arbitrary withdrawal of services by Tata Docomo.
Your’s etc.,
Brinda Das,
Shillong -6