Editor,
Through your esteemed daily may I ask why some localities in Shillong bar their roads for learner drivers? As per the driving Learner’s License which is sanctioned as per the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, one is allowed to drive all over India i.e., on the roads built and maintained by the government so long as one observes Rule 3 under this Act but to my dismay such a rule seems non-applicable in some localities here in Shillong. One morning while going for a learning drive, a man with an authoritative overtone warned me not to learn driving on the road as if the road belonged to him, To the best of my ability, I always try to be a law abiding citizen but human as I am, I may err and in such cases let law itself fall on me because laws are not made to punish someone but to ensure a healthy living and an organised behaviour. In addition to this, there are some roads in Shillong that are unnecessarily turned into one-way lanes with the influence of the so called ‘Dorbar Shnong’. We understand the meaning of one-way traffic and its significance but how can we be convinced if the road is made one-way to facilitate someone for overnight parking on the road side? The road is not a no man’s land but a public property and hence it should be used for public interest.
Yours etc.,
AW. Rani
Shillong-04
Delay in payment of scholarship
Editor,
Students who have applied for NEC Scholarship (Fresh) 2013 are yet to receive it. Usually we received our stipends between August-October every year. In our case we should have got it last year. Ironically our seniors who applied for NEC renewal have received their scholarship in August 2014. So too the students who have applied for Post Matric scholarship. Every time we go to the Scholarship Dept in Additional Secretariat Shillong, we get the same answer that our Govt does not have money. From the NEC office they have informed us that this time, 90% of the money has been given by NEC which was released in the month of June 2014 and the remaining 10% is the state share. If the Govt can afford to give Laptops, M-Tabs to other students then why are we being penalised? This is an insult for a Govt that claims that it is trying to improve education here if it cannot afford to pay even the remaining 10% which rightly belongs to us. Will the Govt pay us our stipend before first week March 2015?
Yours etc.,
Shainbor Nongrang,
Via email
Much ado about a suit
Editor,
I fully agree with ES Jyrwa letter ‘Modi’s monogrammed suit’ (ST Feb 20, 2015) that our mindset is to make a mountain out of a mole hill. In American dollars a Rs 10 lakh suit is a mere 16,000 dollars. In American media it is not news at all. But through the perverted servile mindset of Indian channels it looks like a big thing, thereby hiding the real news. Barack Obama came to India and did conquer. The NDA government finally agreed that in case of any liabilities in the wake of future nuclear accidents, the Americans will not be held responsible, indicating that India is still a slave economy.
Secondly, even while Modi tried to inch himself closer to the US President by calling him “Barack”,the US President never conceded even a centimetre and kept responding formally “Mr.Modi”. A servile nation indeed! Hence the importance of flashing the Rs 10 lakh suit everywhere and any time.
Yours etc.,
Rasputin Bismarck Manners
Kolkatta