Friday, March 29, 2024
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Shameless street vendors

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Editor,

It is such an unpleasant plight to see the condition around Motphran area and its adjoining spaces which are teeming with street vendors who set up their stalls wherever they like. This has resulted in complete chaos for vehicles driving that way. The lane leading to Mawlonghat area is crowded as the street vendors have converged into the main road. Some vendors have even occupied the drain near the Jeep Stand area near Iewduh by setting up platforms for selling vegetables, meat, etc. This is very unhygienic but the State Food Inspectors seem to be blind. I would just like to raise a few questions. Should street vendors blame the vehicle drivers if there is an accident? Also don’t these vendors know that it is unhygienic to sell their goods right next to a drain? This is a disgrace! It has marred the beauty of this well known public area in the city. I believe this problem can only be solved by the coordination of the adjoining Dorbar Shnong in the areas mentioned, along with the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council, the Office of the Syiem of Mylliem and the Shillong Municipal Board. These authorities should come down heavily on street vendors who occupy public spaces such as footpaths etc. They are a public nuisance and should be dealt with accordingly.

Yours etc.;

Mewan Pariat,

Shillong-2,

Unfair, arbitrary decision,

Editor,

Apropos the letter captioned “A ‘fare’ decision” (ST Oct 2014) while congratulating the Nongstoin Tourist Taxi Association for reducing the fare by Rs.20 after the prices of petrol and diesel have come down I wish to draw the attention of the District Authorities of East Khasi Hills regarding the tourist taxis and local cabs. The drivers of these commercial vehicles are charging fares according to their whims and fancies. After the major landslide that took place on Sunday Oct 5, last on GS Rd near Umling, I and my family members had to travel to Guwahati the next day. On reaching the taxi stand at Khyndailad we found that all the Swift Dezire taxis are asking for Rs.1000 per head, saying that they had to take a different route. Wagon Rs and other small cabs coming from Guwahati asked Rs 700 per head. Since we had some very urgent meeting to attend we had to take the Wagon R. For a diversion which means an extra distance of about 15 kms those cab drivers looted the helpless tourists / passengers by taking advantages of the situation. There was no one to look into this matter or to take action against these looters. This is not the end of the story. On Monday, Oct 13, when my wife and I reached Paltan Bazar Guwahati taxi stand we found that all the Swift Dezire taxis were charging Rs 500 per head. When we asked from the date from which the fare was increased, some said from that very day, others said thr fares had gone up a months ago. When I argued that I am from Shillong and asked them to show me the order of the District Authorities they started laughing saying that new rates had been published in the news papers a month back. When I told them that I am going to note down their cab numbers and would take up the matter with the Administration one driver tried to call up his cohorts. Then he menacingly said that I could call the DC, DTO or even the CM but that I should move away from his cab. For information and appropriate action from the concerned authorities I am giving herewith the number of that cab – ML 05 K 5870.

I would also request the concerned authorities to depute officials from time to time to the tourist taxi stand and to observe what goes on there and also to contain such crimes. For last three months petrol prices have come down but all cabs are charging the same high rates. Where will the common people go to for their grievances?

Yours etc.,

N. Bhattacharjee

Shillong – 6.

Star of David

Editor,

In 1941, by a decree of the Third Reich, it was compulsory for all Jews to wear the “Star of David” sign on their clothing. Any Jew found, not abiding with the law, was immediately prosecuted.

History tells us about how this logo, was but the start of the most shameful and sad episode in the history of mankind – The Holocaust. Eleven million people were killed of which 1 million were Jewish children. Have we learnt anything about the value of life since then? Have we learnt to respect one another as human beings? Or is our religion, our ethnicity, our only identity? In a democratic and secular country like India, it is disheartening and frightening to read about the distribution of uniforms bearing the ethnic tag of the porters carrying loads, in the oldest market of our city, Iewduh.

Would not number tags have been better? We have Roll numbers in our educational institutions, employment numbers, bank account numbers, PAN Cards, EPIC, and telephone numbers. All help to identify us in an unbiased way. Could not the same be done for our humble porters? Why brand them by their ethnicity? Is our city/state heading for a pogrom? An ethnic cleansing? Or am I the only person to link the two events in my mind?

Yours etc.,

Geetanjali. T.

Shillong- 5

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