Editor,
Being an ex student of a premier school in this city I witnessed a mixed bag of changes in my Alma Mater, one of them being the system of sending students for excursion to foreign countries – a move that looks very progressive at the outset. But in a Christian educational institution which bases itself on equality for all, it was quite surprising to see a system of self financed foreign trips, including costs which worked out to a couple of lakhs, thus automatically implying that only a small privileged section qualify to be a part of this, simply because of the economic standards of the parents. And the rest were left out.
This drawing of a wedge between students based on their economic backgrounds and no other criterion for merit, could have serious impact on the young minds who are left out only because of their inability to match up to the fancy costs involved. While excursions like these are important, I wonder if fancy international trips should be the priority, or, should more economically accessible alternatives that ensure the inclusion of every student be of greater priority and motto for the school?
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request
Easing traffic congestion in Shillong
Editor
The traffic congestions on the main roads of Shillong has become unbearable. For the traffic police personnel it is like fire- fighting everyday with no hope of dousing it any time soon but
which instead spreads with each passing day. Lately the congestion has started to spread to the lateral roads from different localities since portions of these narrow roads are used for parking of vehicles either throughout the day or overnight. Residents of localities near schools, especially, have to struggle to get in or out of their localities because of the parking of vehicles along their approach roads during school pick up time .
The government is now asking its different departments to come out with solutions to ease this congestion (ST March 29, 2018) though it seems that as of now there is less scope
to maneuver and introduce permanent solutions. Recommendations like construction of flyovers , skywalks, underground passes etc., as heard in the past may not be plausible as the existing complexities within the city will not allow these to materialize soon or in the near future.. In any case ,with the lack of sufficient spaces , the huge excavations on or around existing roads to build such structures will cause a traffic congestion of unimaginable proportions since even mere repair of potholes have thrown traffic out of gear . There could be funds constraints too.
While the long term solution may continue to be elusive , however bringing in some preventive or restrictive measures could ease the situation to some extent. When individual dropping of students to schools and picking them up later is a major cause of traffic congestion then it is time
perhaps for the government to consider making it mandatory for the major institutions to run school buses, initially with some form of assistance to ensure compliance and with the modalities to be worked out along with the school authorities and parents. The system works well in many big cities in the country and should work here as well. In fact, some schools in Jowai town are already running school buses with the cooperation of the parents of students.
As a deterrent to possible increase of permanent roadside parking and as a measure to reduce the number of vehicles in the city it may be made mandatory for new vehicle owners of Shillong to declare the availability of parking space of their vehicles at the time of registration . The Durbar Shnong may confirm such availability with the registering
authority . The Transport Department Enforcement personnel may also occasionally monitor at sites and identify the car owners who use roadsides as parking spaces with appropriate
follow up, action.
Locating the terminal for the passengers commercial vehicles in the suburb of Shillong at certain points on the direction from which they come will reduce the number of
vehicles entering the city. The local cabs or public buses may take over to frequently ferry passengers to and from these locations instead of their usual long wait for passengers at
their respective stands which also causes congestion. The odd- even formula of the Delhi government did not contribute much in reducing air pollution but it did help in reducing traffic congestion in Delhi city when it was in force. It could be a harsh measure but desperate times call for desperate measures. Whether the government needs to adopt such
a measure will depend on how desperate the situation is but hopefully it will have a contingency plan with alternative arrangements made ready if the need arise .
Ultimately , it is people’s constructive participation which will help the government
to find solutions in its endeavour to improve the life of the citizens. It is also hoped that
there is whole-hearted cooperation of political leaders cutting across party lines and jurisdictions with the government so that it can take firm, courageous and worthwhile decisions on this issue
for the overall interest.
Yours etc.,
K.L.Tariang,
Via email
Age of leaks!
Editor,
This refers to the front – page report, “CBSE paper leak : Tale of friendship gone awry” (ST, April 2, 2018). From bank loan leak to Aadhaar information leak to poll date leak to now CBSE question paper leak ~ are we living in an age of leaks? Or is it a leak age? We fail our children in every possible way. Students are to cope with a growing apprehension that they may not get jobs in future which means living without employment and without any unemployment allowance as well. But private educational institutions are extracting exorbitant fees from them. Now, paper leak is there to add insult to injury.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata