A letter to the editor appearing in this newspaper on Friday, just a day before the disaster adjacent to the Shillong Raj Bhavan, cautioning that the trees in and around Shillong city which are precariously perched and very old should be sawed down, is clairvoyant. It’s almost as if the person sensed that something was going to happen. That an old tree whose girth is immense had indeed crashed and fallen on the main road on Saturday and taken away three precious lives is a sad commentary on the state of affairs in Meghalaya. The Government’s pathetic response is to offer the bereaved family a token financial settlement as if human lives can be measured by money. The State Forest Department is the major offender here. It is the duty of the officers in charge of the city, in collaboration with the Urban Affairs Department/Shillong Municipal Board to undertake regular checks on the health of the trees and their ability to bear the onslaught of heavy winds, and incessant rains as is being witnessed now in the state.
In this aspect the Raj Bhavan and other institutions which contain within their premises trees that are several decades old, should be proactive about taking stock of whether there has been erosion around the roots that could lead to their collapse. That is what the Forest Department staff are trained in, but, as usual this is yet another case of gross negligence. The question all are asking is who will be held accountable for the three lives lost on Saturday. Will responsibility be fixed? Will a judicial enquiry be held or shall we end up blaming nature for a calamity that was preventable. The heavy rains have revealed the shortcuts taken by the PWD in road making and maintenance. The road from Polo to Police Bazar, inaugurated with much fanfare by the Chief Minister a couple of months ago, also gave way on Saturday due to a landslip owing to poor soil testing and weak fencing. All this is the result of bad governance and a very slipshod and poor monitoring system that can hold individuals, departments and the Government responsible. When will citizens wake up?
