Shillong quietly turned 150 years on April 28. There was no gala celebration, no birthday cake, no candles, no rock band or crooners to wish this city. Many don’t even care to remember. It took Shillongites living away from this city to remind everyone on social media that their affectionate birthplace has crossed the sesquicentennial year. Much has been written by different people, over the years about how this town of 25,000 people has had to bear the burden of rapid urbanization. Shillong’s population in 2011 was 3.54 lakhs. We are now in 2016 and it is evident that the population has grown by at least a couple of lakhs. That there is no respect for this city is borne out by the fact that there is no single responsible agency to take accountability for the garbage disposal and sanitation system. The residents of the city moan and groan but have not been able to get their act together to ensure that a viable garbage management system is in place. The Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) whose mandate it is to ensure that residential accommodations are constructed in a manner that suits the ambience and ecology of a hill station has failed miserably to carry out its mandate. Corruption and nepotism in the MUDA has resulted in the violation of building bye-laws and the raising of buildings that threaten to collapse in case a high intensity earthquake shakes the city. Most buildings are ugly concrete, shoe box structures whose owners don’t care how they look so long as they can collect their monthly rent.
Two of the most important rivers – the Umkhrah and Umshyrpi are encroached upon and have become victims of anthropogenic activities. These rivers are also repositories of the city’s sewage and garbage. Attempts to clean up the rivers have failed as the efforts have not been backed up by adequate scientific preparations and finances. Both the rivers are now dead as they are heavily toxic. Resuscitating them would require a mammoth effort and expertise but it would also mean having the political will to tackle the encroachment. No Government thus far has had the courage of conviction to take the bull by the horns. Even the much vaunted Swacch Bharat campaign has failed to take off in Shillong.
In this pitiable scenario the only tribute that the people of Shillong can pay to their city is to take a solemn oath to clean up their respective patches; reduce waste and put pressure on Government to ban plastics – the one evil that will eventually choke us all up or bury us under its weight. If every locality takes it upon itself to clean up the mess there is a chance that we will succeed. Every great change begins with a small step. Can the people of Shillong rise to the occasion?