Wednesday, November 13, 2024
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SHILLONG JOTTINGS

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No concept of FMCG in our supermarkets

Supermarkets in Shillong are a big hit for want of anything better. But their salespersons do not seem to understand the purpose of a supermarket. They stock Fast Moving Consumer Products (FMCG) and therefore there has to be a constant watch that the demand does not outdo the supply chain. But it is every customer’s nightmare that a product that has become a favourite of the family, like a particular brand of milk or biscuit or tinned fish is suddenly missing from the shelves the next time they to shop at the same supermarket. The standard reply is, “No stock,” which actually is an inexcusable excuse. A supermarket in Rynjah charges its customers 1% on the total bill if they pay by debit or credit card. Is this the done thing? Will the banks explain? A customer who purchased washing soap bars, cold cuts (sausages etc) and bathing soap and curd found all of them packed in one bag. By the time she reached home the frozen food was smelling of soap. In other supermarkets the salesperson are told to pack food items separately from other laundry items. Simply having a supermarket is no big deal if the people behind the counter have the mindset of a “kirana dukan.” Sadly customers think these supermarkets do them a big favour so no one complains. It’s time customers formed a Consumer Protection Group to keep an eye on n supermarkets and other sales and services centres in the city.

 Beware the luscious mango!

A reader wrote of his experience with the mangoes. On June 14, a neighbour gave him a beautiful, fresh, plump looking ripe, mango. But when he cut the fruit he was surprised to find some patches of white substance inside. This white substance, he said, looked like some kind of chemical and gave out a very pungent smell that made him nauseous. Earlier a colleague of his had warned of a similar thing. He and his family have stopped eating mangoes purchased from the market because they are all artificially ripened by using a chemical called carbide. It seems carbide is also used to ripen bananas and other fruit too. This reader warns that it is hazardous to eat mangoes because they could harm our health. It is a fact that the mangoes we eat today has lost its taste compared to what we used to eat 5 or 10 years ago. The patch of white smelly substance could be carbide. Doctors and chemical experts from NEHU or ICAR can tell us exactly what harm or health hazard this chemical could cause. Meanwhile those with a penchant for mangoes had better take it easy for we are unsure what we are actually consuming. And by the way, there are no Indian apples in the markets today. The shelves are stocked with mangoes from China and US. They are probably irradiated with uranium to stay fresh longer. How long can people ingest chemicals and at what cost to their health?

The Hilsa goes berserk

Last week the Hilsa fish known for its unique flavour sold at a record price of Rs 1000 per kilogram. The fish vendor proudly announced the price as if to say, “Can you afford this fish?” A lady buyer who could not believe her ears at this astronomical price let out a few slangs in Khasi. Everyone around was shocked but not the fish vendor who had a perpetual smile on her face even as her products were selling like hot cakes. The Laitumkhrah Market has always been a seller’s market. The customer gets the rough end of the stick always. The only time some form of control was exercised by the district administration was when the price of onions had shot up to Rs 80 a kilogram in 2011. At the time, the inspectors from the Food and Civil Supplies Department kept a vigilant eye on these avaricious vegetable vendors. But that was short-lived. Once the onion prices stabilised the vigilance stopped. Fish merchants have a free for all. They fleece the customers and no one dares to take them on. No wonder you can see only a select type of clientele buying fish today. The lower middle class can afford neither fish nor vegetables. They survive on watery dal and dry fish. Studies have shown that large numbers of people in Meghalaya, especially children suffer from severe malnutrition. Children also suffer from rickets and eye problems on account of shortage of Vitamins D and A which they are probably not getting from their food. But does anyone care?

 Name change

With the ever changing city’s roads and lanes in the city, there is a need to effect change in their names, too. The Jacob Ladder that connects Bomfyle Road with Don Bosco Square have no longer remained a ladder infested with quadruplets and their two legged human counterparts always busy with substance abuse or girls. The theme and scene of this ladder has changed after it gave way for a one way traffic bitumen road with hume pipe drain running underneath, the non-completion of which has given sleepless nights to the prospect of now once again reigned MLA of East Shillong constituency (formerly Laitumkhrah). Likewise, the nearby Hopkinson Tank road, which no longer adorns any tank in this every increasing water scarce city followed by the Sebastian Bia road (Ramakrishna Mission Road) in Laitumkhrah, which none knows or identify other than its founder, who is no longer seen anywhere. It is seen that despite the road sign, yet people ask about this road which may well and truly be named after the Mission. Then there is Jackson Trace lane in Laban. It is learnt that a tribal name was proposed but the given name was unfortunately more British than Khasi. The proposer of this name wanted something Khasi in comparison with the nearby Kench’s Trace area. But now the Laban legislator is hell bent on turning this lane into a bitumen road. So when that is done then the name has to be changed Jackson Trace road.

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