Editor,
My morning readings of The Shillong Times have made me aware of the concerns of certain people who would like to see more tourism in Meghalaya, and the North East in general. As a person of western origin who has travelled extensively in many countries, I have developed a natural sense of what tourists would like to see. The people of Shillong, I find are very particular about their dress, cleanliness, and personal appearance also with their homes and yards which are kept very clean. However, I find this in complete contrast to what I see in the debris filled streets. I understand that there are people working tirelessly to solve this problem. The hawking and spitting in the streets are particularly disturbing, seeing that they’re spreading their germs to others. This is both unsightly and unacceptable. I might mention that in places, such as Singapore they levy a heavy fine for spitting in the streets. Consequently their streets are very clean. The problem should be approached from the bottom up. Perhaps programs in schools, encouraging children to draw pictures of clean streets and doing their part to keep it clean, might help. People have to take pride in keeping their localities and community areas, such as parks and streets clean. Plastic bags floating on rivers take away from the beauty, and of course the lack of sanitary public toilets is appalling. I know this is not new to you, but if you don’t start you can’t finish. Action on the ground is required. People wishing to travel to outlying areas, such as Cherrapunji need decent roads for a lasting impression. The road from Shillong to Guwahati is quite impressive. There are different forms of pollution such as water, air etc., But one form of pollution that is often overlooked is noise pollution. Great Sages and Saints sought solitude; quietness must be of some value. Why so much noise? I refer especially to the extreme base sounds that are pumped out from far too many vehicle as they pass by, filling the area with disturbing sounds. It is hard to tell whether it’s music or industrial noise. Lastly, how many tourists living at a guest house would like to be awakened in the middle of the night by howling dogs, both street and domestic? Elephants, bears and tigers can be trained to perform and do a wide number of intelligent things. Dogs too can be trained to signal when an intruder is approaching the home, but not standing at the gate barking at all passers-by. I can cite one area that I am quite familiar with, where there are a large number of dogs believed to be kept in cages and on leashes, all of which bark for most of the day and into the night. It is unfortunate that there isn’t some control on this sort of thing. It’s also unfortunate that the people who are keeping these animals don’t seem to be aware of the effect that they have on others. In most civilized countries, there are laws against this. And here I must include India as one of the oldest and highly regarded civilizations. I always enjoy my stay in Meghalaya and don’t wish to appear too critical, but I would greatly appreciate seeing these changes. Bring back the well-known similitude of ‘The Scotland of the East”
Yours etc.,
John Oliver
Shillong -14