Editor,
The article on ‘Dorbar Shnong vis-à-vis Supreme Court Order’ which appeared in your esteemed daily on April 22, 2016 is a timely intervention and reminder to all inhabitants of Meghalaya on the need for a robust local governance though Dorbars. What is heartening to see is the increasing acceptance of the demand to make women too as members of the Dorbars. It is however shocking and it hurts and shames me personally that the Dorbar Shnong of Madan Laban-Riat Laban has not been summoned for over 5 years. How are the yearly expenditure and budget –if any- being approved? If this is the situation in a Dorbar in the city, one can only pray that the trend is not rampant everywhere. Writings and opinions to strengthen Dorbars should be encouraged and I urge your daily to continue publishing inputs on Dorbar Shnongs so that a healthy debate ensues on what are the best means to provide local governance to the populace.
Your etc.,
A Wanshai Shynret
Shillong 4
Stop giving ‘tips’ in restaurants!
Editor,
The Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC) has through a newspaper-advertisement on May 3, 2016 pictorially revealed that effective service-tax inclusive of cess on food served in air-conditioned restaurants is just 5.8 percent while restaurants are levying ten-percent additional as service-charge. Rather than issuing clarifications through newspaper-advertisements, CBEC and other concerned authorities in central and Delhi governments should instead give stern warning to restaurants against looting of consumers through such unnoticed levy of service-charge.
On being queried in a restaurant on such unhealthy practice of levying service-charge, it was revealed that it is to be distributed amongst the serving-staff as a sort of ‘compulsory’ tip. It is quite another thing that serving-staff even then expect and stand before the customers in expectation of some more ‘tips’. Giving ‘tips’ depends on the personal wish of the customer. The Union and Delhi Government should take stern action against the practice of forcing compulsory ‘tip’ in the name of service-charge since consumers normally take ‘service-charge’ also as a sort of government-levied tax. Even banks should be directed not to provide space for ‘tips’ in their credit-card slips.
It is also time that members of public now do away with British-era practice of paying ‘tips’ to serving-staff anywhere at hotels, restaurants or at any other place mainly for status-symbol. ‘Tips’ are a sort of bribe for getting better service. In countries with highest honesty-rankings, the practice of paying ‘tips’ does not exist at all. Department of Consumer affairs should launch a publicity-campaign under its programme ‘Jago Grahak Jago’ to educate people to discontinue practice of paying ‘tips’.
Yours etc.,
Subhash Chandra Agrawal
(Guinness Record Holder & RTI Activist)
Delhi – 6
Special leave
Editor,
The Election Commission of India has declared may 16, 2016 as polling date to the 2- Tura Parliamentary Constituency bye election. The Government is familiar with the fact that the electorates of Garo Hills who are Government employees are serving in Khasi, Jaintia and Ri-Bhoi Districts of Meghalaya. Therefore, on behalf of all the electorate I request the Chief Secretary of Meghalaya/ Chief Electoral Officer to kindly grant the State Govt employees and also those of Public Sector Undertakings two days special leave on May 16-17 subject to the production of EPIC as proof to their respective departments to enable us to exercise our franchise as citizens of India.
Yours etc.,
Louvre Venus R. Marak (Govt. Employee),
Shillong.
The selfie craze
Editor,
Kudos to Banmankhraw Lyngdoh for the letter titled “Mind the camera”(ST May 2, 2016).The highly appropriate and relevant letter reminds me of my recent trips to Nepal and Bhutan. Far from appreciating the majestic beauty of the two Himalayan nations, our fellow tourists were acting like lunatics and zealously clicking selfies with their smart phones in front of Buddha statues, monasteries, lakes, rivers or near watch towers in jungles as if there is no tomorrow! And immediately after posting those pictures on social media sites, they started to engage themselves in mere gossip or discuss politics to Bollywood! It seemed their trip was not meant to cultivate new lands and its culture, but merely to advertise to the world that ‘I am also travelling’!
This zealous obsession with self has engulfed the world in such a pathetic way that even Barrack Obama, otherwise a highly sensible personality, immersed himself in selfie-culture with two other European leaders at the solemn occasion of the funeral ceremony of none other but the great Nelson Mandela! Since the world in general prefers to augment the external beauty instead of improving the inner self, thereby providing a huge boost to the cosmetic industry; the self-centred selfie-culture of advertising oneself has succeeded in capturing the imagination of civilization with disastrous consequences including fatal accidents while taking “brave” pictures at mountains or sea coasts. If individuals are so eager to highlight themselves in front of the society, why don’t they try to make a mark through excellence in sports, education, literature or social service?
Lastly, if people do not hesitate to risk their very own lives so as to act “smart”, isn’t it too much to expect from them that they would lend their hands of support to save the lives of others? Thanks to these set of perverts, “disaster tourism” is thriving across the society right from Kolkata’s collapsed flyover site to the ruins of Durbar Square following the devastating April 2015 Nepal earthquake. Smart phones obviously possess various advantages; but there lies no doubt to the fact that its in-built cameras have provided a major boost to the self-obsessed lot , who don’t even hesitate to exploit scenes of tragedy also, thereby augmenting heartlessness and selfishness in the society.
Yours etc.,
Kajal Chatterjee,
Kolkata