Editor,
Apropos to the letters to editor by Messrs Jerome K. Diengdoh Lyngdoh and N Marak which appeared recently where they had quoted my letter appearing sometimes ago my response is as follows.
Whether the writers agree or not most of the untimely deaths of Government servants is due to bad habits especially excessive drinking. If someone disagrees I request the Government to set up an enquiry committee to look into the cause of untimely deaths of grade 4 and 3 employees for the last 10 years and find out the cause of death.
How many of these Government servants are sincere? Let us have a simple check. Go to the Government offices at 10 am and you will discover the pathetic attendance. In rural areas and far flung districts people don’t even attend office regularly including many PHCS which are created for healthcare and dealing with medical emergencies. If anyone has doubts let the enquiry committee requested conduct surprise checks and find out the facts. Most Government servants don’t have a moral right to talk about sincerity.
Almost 50% population of the state lives below poverty line. I reiterate that the families which require real compassion are these and not those families of the deceased Government servants who will be receiving family pension and other benefits whereas these people have nothing.
Unlike many other states Government jobs are the most sought after jobs in Meghalaya as there are not many better private sector jobs available. Every job is therefore important in the state as unemployment is on the rise.
Government is not only for Government servants but for all. In the name of welfare of Government servants one cannot compromise the interests of vast majority who are more deserving in all aspects.
Government servants in the state therefore do not deserve any special consideration in the form of compassionate appointments. Let their family members also compete with the rest to secure jobs like the rest in all fairness and justice to all.
Yours etc.,
Desmond Lyngdoh
Shillong -4
Cabinet rejig
Editor,
This refers to your editorial “Modi’s cabinet rejig” (ST- Sept 4, 2017). It is the PM’s prerogative to decide who he wants in his Council of Ministers. Modi’s cognisance of performance has also been a significant factor. The 3rd reshuffle of Council of Ministers appears an attempt to showcase ‘performance’ and ‘delivery’ over considerations of caste and politics as the country battles an economic downturn and agrarian crisis. There is no doubt that the inability to remove non-performing heavyweights is stark and has only reinforced the public perception of incompetence.
Yours etc.,
Vinod C. Dixit
Ahmedabad – 15
Traffic jams in Shillong
Editor,
Traffic jams in Shillong has reached an alarming stage. People from all walks of life are facing this acute problem day in and day out. It is a cause of great worry for everyone. No one knows at what time one will reach one’s given destination. It is uncertainty, anxiety and frustration that one has to undergo while being stuck in traffic. With each passing day the problem has on;ly aggravated. I feel we have overlooked one simple aspect. It is our changing life style. Because of easy availability/ accessibility to the transport system, we have become lazy. Just look, how people are waiting to go to Police Bazar any time of the day, from Laitumkharah, Laban, Jhalupara and adjoining areas. I am not exaggerating but during rush hours, one has to wait at least forty –five minutes to be able to board / share a bus or cab. Once inside a vehicle one is unsure about reaching one’s destination.
Truly we are turning ourselves into invalids. To commute even a short distance by walking has become impossible. I feel we have borrowed this habit from other cities. Whereas the topography and weather conditions of Shillong are ideal for walking. There are many shortcuts available. People of my age (69 years) or even younger, will vouch for the fact that during our time we walked to our schools, colleges and our place of our work. These days we are all health conscious; we talk of Yoga or other forms of exercises. Why not perform this simple exercise of walking daily? If we seriously want to reduce the rush in our traffic then the initiative of walking should come from high ranking officials, public representatives, school teachers and big businessmen. Let’s make walking a fashion. It is possible only in Shillong and perhaps in all other hill stations. The government may also declare CHAKKA JAM once a month, at least within Shillong city and in its suburb once every few months. I suggest that Government should continue to construct footpaths with railings at the present pace and to depute more traffic police at road crossings particularly during school timings. I think, we need not mimic the New Delhi type ‘Even and Odd numbers vehicles plying every alternate day’ to regulate the traffic.
Yours etc., Krishna Chettri Shillong- 2
LPG problems
Editor,
There was an advertisement on Sep 2, 2017 calling for LPG distributors in various parts of Meghalaya, except Resubelpara, despite it being the headquarters of North Garo Hills. Earlier there was advertisement calling for LPG distributors for Resubelpara too, however, probably due to some issues of nontransparency in the selection process by the Company, the project could not take off. My humble request is that the lottery for the selection of the distributor should be genuine (not pretend to be transparent by picking up one lucky candidate, when, probably all the other papers contain the name of that same lucky candidate), or it should not be used when there is a clear-cut eligible person who fulfills the required criteria. Whatever happened has happened for Resubelpara, but it is high time that, we, the residents get LPG supply at our place too. In these few years, the cost of LPG has doubled. Over and above that the people of Resubelpara are paying more for the cylinder as it comes from the neighbouring town.
Yours etc.,
A concerned citizen