Editor,
I am glad that the Court has decided to uphold contempt charges against the upstart CEM Adelbert Nongrum for his brash behaviour. For too long our politicians and NGOs have been allowed to get away with breaking the law as they please, thanks to a compromised police force. We need some form of judicial activism to bring these upstarts to heel so that the interests of the common people are not harmed. The politician of today represents only himself, not his constituents. He pours in money to win elections and safeguard his business interests, a la Vincent Pala, coal-merchant-turned-politician. Similarly, the Rangbah Shnong too has become a self-empowered, corrupt position misused by one and all to extort money through the NOC route. As Justice Sen has rightly pointed out, if this illegal practice is not stopped now then tomorrow we will need an NOC from Rangbah Shnong just to breathe! And it goes without saying that in more than 95% of cases, a tidy sum of money changes hands for each NOC issued by a Rangbah Shnong, granting people a fundamental right which already exists! Why should we allow ourselves to be led by the nose by the likes of Adelbert Nongrum and Co. instead of trusting the judiciary in this matter? Nongrum is simply grandstanding and nothing more!
Yours etc.,
Timmy Lyngdoh
Shillong-6
Chaotic run for democracy
Editor,
Kudos to the Chief Electoral Officer, Govt of Meghalaya for holding the event “Run for Democracy,” on Jan 25. The cash prizes were substantial; the trophies excellent, plus a filling breakfast and lunch. Sadly, it was all marred by the poor arrangements that were nothing short of chaotic. To begin with the participants age was not verified. Categories were above 16, under 16 and 50 and above. One doubts as to how many of those winners above 50 were really their age and if those claiming to be under 16 were really so. Runners were made to wait in the cold, many of them since 6 am just to get the number and the T-shirt. On top of that, inside the State Central Library auditorium one had to struggle to get the T-shirt and number before the actual run could start. Some went with more than one T-shirt and a good number of them didn’t even run. In fact the T-shirt and number could have been collected the previous day or the organizers could have set up tables with volunteers and given out the T-shirts only after ascertaining the identity and age of the runners. Traffic should have been regulated to facilitate the runners to run without inhibition. The real ‘tamasha’ was the stampede for the breakfast. Most of the very young and older lot had to leave without breakfast. And in the name of Swacch Shillong, efforts could have been made to prevent water bottles from being littered all along the route. The fundamental problem with all these events is lack of professionalism in managing the event. I guess the organizers have never been exposed to such mega events. But that is no excuse to hold it badly. The CEO should henceforth outsource such events to a professional group.
Yours etc.,
Rudi Warjri,
Via email