Friday, December 13, 2024
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Why this land alienation?

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Editor,

It surprised me to discover that there is a big plot of land opposite NEIGRHMS which has been acquired by Nagaland Government in view of building a Nagaland Guest House and a little further ahead at Mawkasiang, another big plot of land has been acquired by the Mizoram Government for a Mizoram Guest House. As far as I know both states already have their guest houses in Shillong, Nagaland House is in Nongrim Hills  and Mizoram House is located in Risa Colony. The question many are asking is why should in a small state like Meghalaya, these states need two guest houses each? In my knowledge, a State Guest House is meant for maintaining an inter-state diplomatic relationship. That is the reason why in every State guest house there is a liaison officer whose principal task is to maintain and promote diplomatic relationships between his state and the state in which the house is situated. Such houses also serve as official guest houses for their state officials who come on government assignments and by way of extended service, they can also provide accommodation to persons in need, coming from their states. This brings me to a conclusion that these two State Governments are acquiring our land more than they actually need. This is precisely why alienation of the Khasi people’s land which should be halted at the earliest as it endangers the survival of a community. According to an RTI obtained and analyzed by RAIOT, there are 60 Government organizations, 23 non tribal private companies/organizations and 38 non tribal individuals who have applied for land acquisition in the NST (New Shillong Township) area. I wonder what was the follow-up of that RTI or has it been hushed up? What are those NGOs doing about it? The way these non-local institutions are coming up, it looks like this issue has not been followed up. Tribal land should be protected at all cost and alienation of land should only be considered for educational and development purposes (that too with proper contracts to benefit the local people) and not for making guest houses or private enterprises of the non-locals. The much needed amendment to the Meghalaya Land Acquisition Act of 1971, has not yet been effected till today. What is the Government doing about this? If the government is intent on protecting the future of our people, then the needed amendment must be effected at the earliest. I hope the village leaders of those concerned villages will take up this matter with due seriousness before it is too late.

Yours etc.,

Barnes Mawrie sdb,

Via email

Reminder to MeECL

Editor,

The residents of Nongrah are disgusted with the contemptible services that MeECL is rendering to the area. There are at least five power cuts almost every day, some of which lasts for hours together. When inquiries are made as to why there is  power cut, the most cited reason is that repair work is going on. One fails to understand what kind of materials the Corporation to necessitate repairs every single day!

We, the residents of Nongrah, Shillong would like to remind MeECL that we are living in the 21st century and so much of our lives depend on electricity. Our tolerance of its services is indeed almost at breaking point.

Yours etc.,

Meba Aihun Blah,

Shillong -6

Arrogant SBI staff

Editor,

Through your esteemed newspaper I wish to express my extreme distaste at the arrogant attitude displayed by the staff of SBI, Meghalaya Secretariat branch. This was my experience when I went to inquire about some discrepancies in my Loan Account for the month of April, 2016. Being a Govt employee, I together with all my colleagues usually get our salaries late in the month of April since this is the end of the financial year. To my utter surprise, the deduction for the month of April was made beyond the usual deduction. However, when i went to enquire from the staff of the said bank, they were casual and arrogant in their attitude and even after more than a week, did nothing about it but feigned ignorance and instead blamed me for the late salary being credited for this month. Even the AGM refused to entertain my inquiries and   told me to speak with the staff dealing with the Loan section and this particular staff also gave one pretext or the other and did not rectify the discrepancy. I therefore, urge upon the higher authorities in the SBI to look into the matter and  take necessary measures to correct this attitude being displayed by their staff in dealing with the public otherwise I will compelled to report this matter to the Banking Ombudsman with the name of the staff concerned.

Mark Khongwir,

Via email

Mushroom poisoning

 Editor

The unfortunate reports of mushroom poisoning have become quite frequent in Meghalaya and needs to be addressed seriously; the public need to be educated about the same. Mushrooms are predominantly Basidiomecetous fungi with elaborate vegetative and reproductive structures. Mushrooms are known to be rich in proteins, amino acids, fibers, vitamins and minerals and are hence extremely rich in nutrition. They constitute an important component of global nutraceutical and functional food industries and are commercially cultivated worldwide with annual turnover of several million dollars. Mushroom production has earned good dividends in terms of quality source of nutrition as well as financial success across the world. However, on needs to note that there are two types of mushrooms-edible (that is suitable for human and animal consumption) and non-edible (toxic). In most developed nations as well as in big Indian cities, edible mushrooms are bought from certified commercial producers who maintain high quality and nutrition level of their mushroom products during production.

The problem becomes when consumers turn to wild mushrooms as source of nutrition in developed and under developed countries and misidentify poisonous species of mushroom like different colorful species of Amanita (commonly known as toadstools) in place of edible species like Enoki mushrooms, Button mushrooms (Agricus), Morchella etc. Various edible mushrooms are commercially grown around the planet. Unknown wild mushrooms are always a source of potential danger as they are loaded with toxic chemicals as fungal chemical defense mechanism to avoid potential predators. The best practise to avoid mushroom poisoning is to avoid eating raw and cooked wild mushrooms with dubious identity as well as any colorful ones picked from local forests. The best practise that must be encouraged is to consume only commercially produced edible mushrooms.

Yours etc.,     

Saikat Kumar Basu

Lethbridge AB Canada T1J 4B3

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