Editor,
After my letter to the Editor, “Keating Road’s Happy hours” (ST July 25, 2015) I was pleasantly surprised to notice a marked sense of urgency and commitment from the police and the Excise Departments to clean up the mess not only in Keating road but in places such as Demseiniong and Polo as well. Here in Keating road there were constant raids followed by police patrols swarming the area bringing back a sense of safety and security in the neighbourhood; and having read in the papers that the cops were booking people for drunken and disorderly conduct, it made me believe again that the laws and law-keepers do exist. There were calls from friends, neighbours and well wishers complimenting Keating Road’s sobered new look. I, skeptically, ventured to give it a month’s time and see if ready compliments can still pass their quick lips. Lo and behold the compliments did come, but this time in praise of the resilience and tenacity of the illegal liquor sellers, bootleggers, moon-shiners, or whatever fancy terminology you decide to use. Despite the frequent raids by the cops and Excise personnel earlier, the bootleggers are back, faster, higher, stronger not giving a hoot about the authorities or the law. But frankly, I’m not surprised anymore because that is the ever-turning circle for as long as I can remember. These people always tend to get a heads- up before any raid and by the time the cops or the Excise personnel bumble their way to the clandestine sites, the wrong doers are nowhere to be found and the place is as clean as a whistle (anyone else here strangely recalls Macavity?).
If rumours are to be believed, these people (here in Keating Road) selling illegal liquor claim to have impeccable connections with everyone – right from the almighty ‘Seng Bhalangs’, to the higher ups in the Police department, Excise department, the DC’s office, and even among the hallowed haunts of Ministers and MLAs. To the uneducated observer… who knows it might be true. ‘Seng Bhalangs’ – for obvious reasons, of course. Keating Road being predominantly a ‘non-tribal area’ and the people selling illegal liquor are tribal so one can understand the obvious connection. As for the rest, I guess one can only point out to the term commonly and unfortunately associated with our government offices: ‘bai sha’ which loosely translates to ‘payouts’ or for the still uninitiated, bribes. There is no other reason as to why theses departments cannot take action against such illegal acts. Do they not have a duty to fulfil? Are they not bound by the Constitution to carry out their duties as required? And how can our honourable MLA, who happens to be the Minister of Urban Affairs, and who has been entrusted with the task of making Shillong a smart city turn a blind eye to such an illegal act carried out in her very backyard? Well it is not so ‘smart’ after all when two of the three places famous for sale of illicit liquor are situated in her constituency (Demseiniong and Keating Road). It may be a long shot but I hope that I’m proved wrong and I hope that there is still some sense of pride, dignity and responsibility towards the society by the officers in the Excise Department, Police and our honourable MLA. Let’s hope they find the tricks to outsmart the tricksters…or perhaps we should elect one of the tricksters to represents us…or are they already? Well that’s food for thought. Or should I say, drinks for thought?
Yours etc..
Leonard Wankhar
Shillong-1
Open Public Toilet
Editor,
Come winter and I shudder to think of the ammoniacal stench that emanates from the parking space in Rynjah just outside the walls of the Dispensary. Now that the rain is soon going to stop washing down the place, we, the commuters through that road will have to wade through the puddles of urine that collects and flows down the road. With the heavy traffic, pedestrians will get a splash onto their clothes, cars that park or pass by will carry that stench all over the place. It has become the open public toilet for all taxi drivers and men some of whom do not even care if they were relieving right in front of kids or women. If you were to halt there, in half an hour, a dozen or more would be lining up against the walls.
I am not going to fix responsibility on anybody here but I earnestly call for some action from the authorities concerned to make this place a liveable one. There is no drain and even if there is, where would it lead to but to the residential areas. Besides, the dispensary where all the poor patients from this side of town avail treatment is definitely affected by this callous act on the part of our fellow citizens. Perhaps a decent public toilet would help the drivers particularly, who have no place to relieve themselves during their daylong business.
Your etc.
- M. Pyngrope,
Shillong – 6