Editor,
On the September 23, 2014, many tourists/travellers from from Meghalaya missed their flights or trains as they were held up on their way to Gauhati from Shillong due to landslides which happened at two places on the National Highway. However, on October 5th 2014, the severity of it was such that it took a life and several vehicles were buried too. The ongoing four lane conversion on the National Highway is the reason for this occurrence. Anyone passing by this place would know that earth cutting along the NH 40 is not done in a scientific manner or it is so intended that further work could be procured later. Anyway, had measures been adopted to ascertain a proper and scientific execution of the work, a life would not have been lost. I quote from your esteemed daily of 7th October 2014, “Talking to The Shillong Times, Umling Rangbah Shnong, Augustine Wahlang said that Sunday’s landslide was the result of reckless and unscientific cutting and flattening of hillocks along the NH 40 in the name of four-lane project”. In India the life of a human being is dispensable. Negligence of this sort which cost lives and property is common. Old and outdated bridges are never replaced until a mishap happens and lives are lost. A leakage in the electrical circuit in some government building gets no attention until the building catches fire. The old assembly building of undivided Assam where historic legislations were adopted would have been a heritage site but this remains only in the minds of the older generation of our state and needs a mention in this context. Is the recent fire in Ganesh Das hospital where many of the citizens of this beautiful state of ours were born, a case of such negligence? Quoting from your esteemed daily, “The transformer which exploded was installed way back in 1937. The hospital authority had, on numerous occasions, placed requests for shifting of the transformer outside the hospital, but to no avail”.
Is there no law in this country which would ensure such negligence as criminal and take the defaulters to book? Can we have an investigation on such cases? Who is listening?
However, in all such incidents there are real heroes, often the local people at ground zero. I salute the villagers of the site at Ri Bhoi District where the landslide occurred for rescuing the passengers from the damaged vehicles.
Yours etc.,
Dr Saji Varghese
Shillong -1
Church is not silent
Editor,
Apropos the letter to the editor ‘Why is the church silent?’ by Gayreen Lyngdoh (ST Oct 3, 2014) let me bring few points for the attention of the readers. What or who is the Church? The Church is not the buildings and structures, it’s not the Bishops or the Priests or the pastors or the Tymmen Basan. The Church is the Body of Christ (Colossian 1:18) and every baptized person by the very act of accepting baptism becomes part and parcel of the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). Hence, every follower of Christ then constitutes the Church, because we are part of the Body of Christ. Therefore, if Christians like Gayreen Lyngdoh say ‘I too would like to voice my strong disapproval and condemnation of the same’ that is inevitably, the voice of condemnation by the Church against any activities by any group or organizations that do not promote peace, love, faith, hope, brotherhood and well-being of society (basic Christian values). The Church can’t and should not be equated to an organization. Christ never formed an organization. However, if there are organizations within the Church or churches (for reasons known to them) they may as an ‘organization’ also air their concerns about the same. But we need to be specific which organization we mean to question. Mrs Lyngdoh further pointed out a very important point when she wrote “The Church (the body of Christ=every Christian) is never meant to be a closeted institution, but one that reaches out to the world through proactive examples and actions. If we, as the body of Christ (which forms the Church), take this responsibility seriously, perhaps, the world would have been a much better place.” Let us question ourselves then, as Christian why do I keep silent, when I see evil conquering the good? Why do I keep silent when evil deeds are increasing day by day in the society?
Yours etc.,
Michael Makri sdb
College of Mass Communication
University of the Philippines
Manila