SHILLONG: Shillong, also known as “the Scotland of the East”, turned 150 on Thursday. Surprisingly, there was no official function or programme to celebrate the occasion and not many were aware of the significance of the day.
It was during 1866 that the British shifted their headquarters from Sohra to Shillong and the city has come a long way since then.
The erstwhile capital of undivided Assam which became the capital of the new State of Meghalaya in 1972 has seen many a change over the years.
A young entrepreneur, who introduced Shillong Lajong Football Club to the world, Larsing Ming said that in its 150th year, Shillong can be termed as an increasingly popular hill city with a youthful vigour and vibrancy.
He said that the city is blessed with beautiful spaces (lakes, parks & a golf course) that have been created and developed during the Colonial era and large tracts of greenery in the cantonment and Air Force area.
“These are the primary facets of the city along with the old Assam type houses, churches and cathedrals, besides downtown Khyndailad that have largely defined the cityscape over the years and have given Shillong that unique quotient amongst cities and towns in the country,” he said.
He, however, said that the city has failed to maintain, preserve and improve on the “urban heritage” even as it lacked a visionary urban plan in terms of structures, buildings, roads, transport and sanitation.
“The pace at which the city has been growing is also unfortunately a measure of how fast it has degenerated especially over the last decade and a half.”
Sharing his views on the matter, a city businessman, Niraj Surana said that trade has seen several ups and downs in Shillong.
He rued the lack of incentives to businessman coming from outside the State to invest here.
He added that traders settled here since ages have a feeling of oneness with Shillong even though the city saw decades of both exploitation and prosperity.
Social activist Toki Blah said that “Shillong is growing without any plan and over the years, the city has seen a huge increase in population, from mere 20,000 to lakhs now.”
He lamented that the various machineries running the State are not working in unison.
“Waste management in the city is also collapsing and people are drinking poor quality water. We all love this city but are not helping it in any way,” he said.
Young entrepreneur Mark Laitflang Stone said that Shillong is on the brink of becoming a hub for education, music, culture and business.
He also said that there is a need to build competency of the future generations through inclusive education.
“We are here because of our past and our choice shall define our future,” he said.
As per folk tale, the name of Shillong was derived from the ‘Shyllong’ deity.
It was 150 years ago that the British shifted their headquarters from Sohra to Shillong, the ‘Scotland of East’.
As per history, from a small village, Shillong was made into a new civil station of Khasi-Jaintia Hills in 1866, which remained as the summer capital of the British. 31 years later, the massive earthquake of 1897 changed the landscape of Shillong, but the city was re-built in the same old fashion.
It may be mentioned that earlier, in 2014, there was a reference in the media that Shillong turned 150 which, however, was contradicted by a few historians.
