By Phrangsngi Pyrtuh
Shillong is reeking and creaking. The traffic situation in the city has put to shame the moral lesson that we learn from the “hare-tortoise race story”. The growing city of Shillong is afflicted with what in modern urban parlance is often referred to as “urban angst”.The civil works and drainage system is bellowing in defunctness. The once pristine Umkhrah river criss-crossing the city now only flows to transport the filth and dirt of Shillong. The complicity of the authorities is there for all to see. The violation of rules and regulation pertaining to building and house construction goes unpunished and unheeded despite the tell tales signs of landslides along the river bank, inundation of several embankments and unprecedented floods. These are symptoms of a city under siege. A relevant question one is compelled to ask is from what? To answer this question I must intimate the readers of an exhibition cum seminar recently organized by the Meghalaya Architect Forum (MAF) in the premises of the Arts and Culture Hall of the State Central Library. This author was part of the audience that throngs the seminar and work displays of Shillong’s established and budding architects.
An important event in the program arranged for the day is the panel discussion on New Shillong Township and Wah Umkhrah. I like to elucidate on the latter. The panel discussion titled Wah Umkhrah- what next? was not only enthralling but informative. From the discussion it is clear that the genesis of the problem which has led to the present crisis is the multiplicity of authorities – the Municipal, PWD, District Councils, Dorbar Shnong et al. The hierarchy of authority has led to duplicity of functions and responsibilities. It becomes extremely difficult to plug the loopholes and pinpoint who is actually responsible for the mess. Until this is fixed the panellists agreed that it becomes impossible to come to a concerted effort to clean the river. This writer in previous articles appearing in these columns had argued that the existence of different layers of authority leads to a cat and mouse game where one agency tries to outscore the other. This competitive approach is self-defeating and leads to a negative sum game where the negative (losses) outweigh the gains (positives). The consensus arising from the panel discussion is the need for an overarching authority which subsumes all the functions of these peripheral authorities.
The other sore point which found mention in the discussion is the appearance (and pervasiveness) of multiple stakeholders all in the guise of assuming responsibility to clean the river be it an NGO or a local body. Each has its own goals and agenda which not only conflict but exacerbate the matter. Divergent interests lead to nothing but rent seeking behavior which is a different concern and requires a different containing measure. These stakeholders need a common platform to work – an umbrella in order to coordinate and deliberate and each must be ready to come unattached and with no condition to the talking table.
While these are important points to take home the question that remains unanswered from the discussion is, who is going to bell the cat? The problems identified are not only internal but inherent in the system. It is synonymous to a parasite living in the flesh and each day growing as the host becomes weaker until it dies. It is time to take the bull by its horn. Mention must be made of the a petition filed by environmentalist Naba Bhattacherjee who was one of the panellists, on the Wah Umkhrah and Umshyrpi, that is due to be heard in October by the National Green Tribunal. Taking part in the discussion Bhattacherjee hoped that his petition would jerk the government from its slumber (in much the same effect as the ban on coal mining had done) and get going.
A couple of years ago the KHADC had unveiled and laid a foundation stone for preserving the Wah Umkhrah (by involving the Dorbar Shnong). I like to question what has happened to this grand plan and if there is any progress at all? What are the problems which the Council encountered in this noble endeavour? Can we expect the present CEM of KHADC to take notice and bring it to public domain? If he can arouse the entire market during the public declaration I am certain that he could do the same on the Wah Umkhrah (no matter which authority this river belongs to).
The end of the panel discussion was followed by a screening of short documentary of a river “Cheonggyecheon” flowing through the heart of South Korea’s capital Seoul. The river closely linked to the history of Seoul was one of the most polluted rivers in the country until it was decided to restore it to its past glory which began in 2003 and was completed in 2005. Through this screening the MAF is telling us that it is possible to reclaim Wah Umkhrah river if there is sincere effort to do so.
The government has all along turned a deaf ear to the voice of the common man but when that voice emerge from a group of professionals with expertise in the job, it should sit and take notice. Political will has always been the greatest hurdle to accomplish a noble mission which is true in the case of the Wah Umkhrah. Nonetheless it is encouraging to hear such issues being debated in public and I am grateful to the MAF for providing a platform to voice issues that concern our city and the people living in it. I hope this would open doors for further parleys on the matters that has become the need of the hour.