Editor
Your paper of July30, 2014 has two write-ups, one by Barnes Mawrie on ‘Desecration of Iewduh”: and a letter from Omarga on Jowai town in shambles. Both talk of garbage and uncleanness in a town (Jowai) and a market (Iewduh) I have an issue with Barnes Mawrie. As far as my knowledge goes he is a well qualified Catholic priest but here he speaks like the voice of the Seng Khasi.
He started by declaring “a market is something sacred for the Khasi people.” I am a Khasi and my grandfather had he been alive would be more than 110 years old today. But never in my whole life had my family taught me that the market is sacred. It may be important but not sacred the way the Ganges is to some. So according to Mawrie I may not be counted as a Khasi.
Mawrie also believes in the sacredness or holiness of Iewduh so much that it is ‘desecration (or sin) for him just to call it Barabazar. He also believes in the power of the mythological Divine Assembly (Dorbar Blei Ba Ar) but he seems to put his trust for cleaning the market in the hands of earthly Ardent Basaiawmoit than in the Divine Assembly. I have papers which prove that since 1919 the British Govt wanted to modernise Iewduh but followers of the Divine Assembly opposed the move.
I am willing to budget 10,000 US dollars from my stipend for Barnes Mawrie if his Divine Assembly with all its mythological powers can clean up the Iewduh five years from now. The bet is on.
Yours etc,,
Rasputin Bismarck Manners
Research Scholar attached to Heritage Foundation,
Tulsa,Oklahoma.
Camp-Jadavpur University, Kolkatta
No more illegal liquor shops at Polo please!
Editor,
The demolition work in Polo Market was indeed a big achievement on the part of the Shillong Municipal Board and the Govt. The Urban Affairs Minister as well as the CEO should be commended and appreciated for their persistence. I believe this will pave the way for demolishing other unauthorised constructions/buildings across Shillong. Nothing is impossible if the Govt. has the political will. We look forward for an unhindered construction and a functional Super Market which will be the pride of Shillong. I think the shops in the junction in Polo near the Bridge should also be considered for demolition if they are illegally constructed. The shops in that triangle (taxi stand) pose a great challenge for the traffic police as the place is too narrow for right/left turn, especially for big buses and trucks.
And please no more illegal liquor shops! Quite a number of the shops razed in recent weeks were illicit liquor dens which are health hazards. Many lives have been lost to alcoholism and families shattered and broken. It is expected that with the shops already flattened down, the Government should stop rehabilitating these liquor sellers. I have witnessed how our young people consume the stuff as it is easily available from morning till night. Many youths from and around Polo areas (like Mawlai, Lawmali, Forest Colony,Jaiaw, Polo, Pynthor, Demseiniong, and beyond) come to the market just for the sake of liquor, making it difficult for the passers-by who live in constant fear and feel unsafe. Black-marketing of liquor will continue is not checked strictly by the Police. This has to stop. I do appreciate the recent proposal by the C.E.M , KHADC, to stop the liquor shops in and around Iewduh. It is indeed a welcome step to end this menace.
I strongly believe that beautification of Polo and Shillong will start with the beautification of the lives of individuals. If such things are removed completely from Polo area, the place where the Super Market complex will stand will indeed, be beautiful.
Yours etc.,
Reward Rymbai,
Via email
Skeletons in the cupboard
Editor,
The alleged nexus between the Chief Minister and ANVC-B has resurfaced. Irked by the arrest of 24 of its cadres, the General Secretary and Special Intelligence Officer of the outfit, Rangra Jagring S Marak alleged that under the then parent organization, ANVC, they had worked hard to elevate Mukul Sangma to the post of the Chief Minister during and after the election in 2013. In January last, the political secretary of the breakaway group, Ajaju R Marak had sensationally revealed the close links between the Chief Minister and the ANVC-B. According to the deceased, the top leadership of the outfit ensured that the Chief Minister returned to the hot seat by strategic attacks, abductions of opposition candidates and phone calls to Garo MLAs to support Mukul Sangma as Chief Minister after the election. At the command of the higher ups, the whistle blower, along with three others, was duly eliminated at the camp at Daren Apal village, shortly after the shocking revelation.
The latest exposure lends credentials to the previous allegations. This explains why the government included the ANVC-B as part of the Peace Pact signed with the ANVC though they have split from the parent organization. This explains why the ANVC-B cadres are allowed to roam free without designated camps. This explains why they are allowed to run illegal camps where guns and ammunitions are stored. It remains to be seen how the opposition reacts to the latest disclosure. As to the first allegation, the opposition parties, namely the United Democratic Party (UDP) and Nationalist People Party (NPP) made a hue and cry. They strongly demanded for the resignation of the Chief Minister and a CBI/NIA inquiry. Going on the offensive, the UDP threatened to take the matter to the President and Prime Minister of India besides making the Lok Sabha’s and Rajya’s leaders of Opposition known of ‘unholy alliance of the Chief Minister with proscribed outfits’.
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Yours etc.,
Albert Thyrniang,
Via emai