Editor,
This letter is to highlight the poor quality of services provided by the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB). Taxes have been hiked at a tremendous rate, whereas there is no justification for them to do so, judging by the poor quality of services provided. In some localities, the services are so poor almost as to be non- functional. The Minister in Charge should improve the quality of the services provided by the SMB before, thinking of hiking taxes and increasing the exchequer of the Board by any means. There is a long list of grievances. Firstly, the water supply provided by the Board is insufficient You would be lucky to get three buckets of water a day. The services provided by municipal plumbers is pathetic and most of the time people end up losing their new pipes for no fault of theirs. When a complaint is registered the unhelpful staff come up with lame excuses and shirk responsibilities to get them restored. The end result is that most of us, who are affected by water crisis, end up buying water. So what is the point of paying taxes to the Board? Secondly, there are no street lights in the so- called municipal areas. In fact the non- municipal areas are better lighted although they don’t need to spend so much on taxes. I know of a lady who lives in the non- municipal area, and was surprised that she had better lighting along the footpath leading to her house., for a small payment every month. If one walks along the streets of Shillong in the municipal areas, one feels a sense of insecurity due to absence of street lighting. It is only thanks to the light coming from peoples’ homes and passing vehicles that somewhat lights up our paths. Thirdly, when the septic tanks are full, the municipal trucks that come to clean it up charges up to Rs 7000 per trip and many a times one trip is not enough. So what is the purpose of a Municipal Board? They might as well privatise the whole range of services. Last but not the least, even the garbage from peoples’ homes are picked up by the Dorbar Shnong in small pick- up trucks in many localities for a small payment made by every household. But one is appalled to see garbage dumps everywhere in the city after the SMB had done away with the dumping bins. The intention was good but the garbage collection system did not meet up with the needs of collecting garbage more frequently especially in commercial areas. It is such an ugly sight that greets tourists who flock here to get a breath of fresh air from the much touted, ‘Scotland of the East.
I therefore reiterate that the Minister, in charge of Municipal Affairs should improve the services of the Department, before thinking of a tax hike.
Yours etc.,
D Diengdoh
Shillong- 1
Misleading tourists
Editor,
On my way to Laitkynsew a few days ago I was stunned to see few signages of hotels and eateries along the route depicting the famous Nohsngithiang Falls as ‘ Seven Sisters Falls.’ It appears that the Polo Towers Hotel at Sohra (Cherrapunjee) seems to have initiated the change. This is absolutely ridiculous and unethical. How come the local Village Dorbar and the Village Community did not know of such matters? And more surprising is their silence on this change. How can we allow any Tom, Dick and Harry to change the traditional names of waterfalls and resorts whenever they feel like? This renaming of places is misleading and an insult to the cultural sensitivities of the indigenous people of Meghalaya apart from hurting the image of our state.
Yours etc…
Dominic S. Wankhar
Shillong-3