Editor,
The Shillong Traffic Department does not seem to have any concrete plans for a traffic control system in the town. One must have observed that almost every month there are some changes in traffic movement routes in the town without any public information. This kind of changes creates problems for the citizens of the town and at times they land up paying fine too for violation of due to the sudden change in routes. In fact, in the last two months Polo area witnessed many such changes in traffic movement such as no entry from the adjacent road of Chief Minster’s Bungalow; no entry from the new road going up to Police Bazar from Jail Road and the recent one at the Polo junction. The residents of Lower Jail Road, Lawmali, Wahingdoh, Forest Colony have to travel an extra kilometer to reach their homes from Polo Police Point to the road that goes via the Chief Minister’s Bungalow then coming back to Hotel Polo Towers and finally the respective localities due to new traffic movement rules. The Shillong Traffic Department must look into the pros and cons before changing any route. It seems Shillong Traffic Police Department is being run according to someone’s whims and fancies. The department must draw a blue print for traffic movement and for controlling roadside parking during peak hours and non-peak hours to cope with the growing number of vehicles every day in Shillong.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request
Nepotism across all Departments
Editor,
Nepotism has crept in to almost all Govt Depts especially in PWD where relatives of existing employees are appointed to officiate in various posts, thus depriving other aspiring youths who are helplessly running from pillar to post searching for a job. Therefore I request the higher ‘Authority’ to look at the matter and to allow open competition and to advertise whatever vacant posts there are
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request.
Who is to be blamed?
Editor,
There is a lot of controversy reported about the selection of new text books for the current batch of students from class 1 to class 10. I don’t know about the other classes and others subjects but with reference especially to class 9 and class 10 Mathematics it seems like old wine in new bottles. The name of the chapters and the chapter numbers in the old and the new books are exactly same except for some extra set of questions most probably. My question to the authorities is whether this is what they wanted with the new text books. Being a teacher of Mathematics I find that the contents of class 9 and 10 having huge difference from that of class 11 and 12. The students score good percentages in class 10 Mathematics paper but fail to manage pass marks when they reach the higher secondary section because of that difference. Moreover, we expected some commercial mathematics to have been included which would have helped the commerce students in future but nothing much has been done on that front. I think the change of text books does not serve the purpose academic development of the fast advancing students but only the financial development of a handful of publishers with the rise in price of the text by almost Rs 100
Yours etc.,
Anil Singh Roka,
Via email
Why speed-breakers on highways?
Editor,
Through this column I would like to highlight that while speed breakers are not an uncommon sight in cities but for a strip of speed breakers to come up without any signage and markings that have been put up along the national highway between Jowai and Khliehriat poses serious dangers and can damage suspensions of a vehicle. How come the NHAI and PWD NH Division are unaware of such modifications even while the DC and other administrative officials going to Khliehriat and elsewhere travel off and on this stretch? I have not come across such arbitrary speed breakers while travelling to other parts of the country, even along the Delhi-Agra-Jaipur Expressway. Perhaps, those in authority should take corrective measures before the speed breakers turn into speed mishaps instead of remaining indifferent to the issue.
Yours etc
Dominic S.Wankhar
Shillong-3