Editor,
Apropos the letter of Mr. Toki Blah on issue pertaining to the most barbaric act of incident lynching of 3 persons at Smit Village on the 16th August 2013 and the public statement issued by Mr. Paul Lyngdoh Spokesperson of MPF, I fully endorse their points of view. What is needed at this juncture apart from what was expressed is an exemplary punitive action by the police and thereafter by the court of law. How can patriotic and good Christians or for that matter the believers in the indigenous faith allow such an unprecedented brutality to happen in this modern and developing world. It is not just the Smit issue but in the recent past , we have read news report on people being suspected of witchcraft being lynched by a frenzied mob at Pynursla , Sohryngkham and our memories are still afresh when a family at Mawlai Nongkwar was set aflame. What has happened to the perpetrators of such heinous crime, barring that of spending few days in lockup and jail and nothing thereafter. The trial dies its natural death, leave aside any conviction. Laws passed by the Parliament have merely become law books for lawyers to practice for their livelihoods. Police must now leave no stone unturned to ensure that all the hooligans involved in the Smit issue are brought to book , irrespective of their status and position. Police should not bow to any pressure whatsoever from the politicians , so as to ensure that such crimes are not only, not repeated but permanently brought to a halt.
Yours etc.,
Cliff R Sohtun
Shillong -6
Independence Day Flop Show
Editor,
The official Independence Day function at Polo Grounds besides being a damp squib, with the weather playing truant, was, to sum it all up, a big flop show. The District administration has done its level best to exhort people to boycott the bandh and to attend the Parade but the way that the programme was organised and compered was very shoddy. School children who turned up by the hundreds, especially those who were to present cultural items and the March past were made to stand in the open air braving the torrential downpour, while the VIPs and their families were warmly ensconced in the galleries. There is nothing wrong with pampering our VIPs, but at least when schools are being invited to perform, provisions should have been made to shelter them from the weather. It was a very pitiful sight to watch school children waiting for their turn to perform while being totally drenched with all their makeup and costume completely spoiled.
Secondly, does our State not even have a proper compere to announce the different events? What business has an ADM got to do with all the announcements with such unprofessionalism that while the events are being held, announcements galore would come out of the tiny loudspeakers thereby interrupting the programme? Do the organisers know how much effort the parents, the schools and children have put in to make the celebrations more colourful, only for the announcer to spoil it all by literally giving a running commentary during the middle of each item?
As for the sound system, the DIPR should hang its head in shame. Not only was the sound quality ancient, the frequent break in the sound was appalling. In these days of quality sound system, the DIPR equipments stands out for being too redundant for such a prestigious event. Why, the clarity and quality of the sound at the Khyndailad event on the same day was a thousand times better. Come on DIPR you can do better than that!
The District Administration has from year to year been organising the Independence Day Celebrations but no lessons have been learned it seems. One hopes that in the coming years more professionalism and quality would creep in to make such events more appealing.
Yours etc.,
A disappointed teacher
Name withheld on request