SHILLONG: ‘Scotland of the East’ is no more the relevant adage for the fast urbanising hill city and Congress MLA Charles Pyngrope twisted it to describe the new avatar of Shillong, concretised and congested, ‘Manhattan of the East’.
“There are buildings everywhere,” Pyngrope said while participating in the debate in the Assembly on the governor’s address on Thursday.
The MLA pointed out that playgrounds do not have necessary infrastructure and turn into puddles of mud and slush. He stated that the fields can be upgraded with artificial turf for the youth to play “instead of roaming in the streets and becoming a nuisance”.
Speaking on Shillong’s sanitation, Pyngrope expressed concern over the unsystematic garbage that needed to be addressed or “the beauty of Shillong will be lost in mountains of garbage”.
“Go for a ban on plastics once and for all,” he said while highlighting the added woes due to excessive use of plastic.
The MLA recalled that he would carry a cloth bag to the market in the past. “We have survived and survived well in the past.”
On traffic congestion, Pyngrope said school buses should be introduced as in the metropolis.
Pointing to the presence of six schools in Laitumkhrah which have an approximate population of 1,500 “multiplied by the number of cars used to drop the children”, he said, “If the state government through the Education Department allows only schools buses, I feel it will ease traffic in Shillong. It is cheaper for parents to send children by buses than to drive their own cars.”
Trade & commerce
Meanwhile, Congress MLA HM Shangpliang urged the state government to open more land custom stations to facilitate trade, export and import. He also asked the state government to look into the pending proposal of setting up a land custom station at Dangar.
Pointing to the Integrated Basin Development, Shangpliang said that crores of rupees were spent on these programmes and the works under the programme should be highlighted.
Farmers’ predicament
Shangpliang pointed out the plight of farmers who are cultivating bay leaf, broomstick and wild black pepper as the produce are categorised as forest products.
Turning to the low prices of these produce, he said, “The price of a kg of broomstick is Rs 15 and bay leaf is Rs 42 per sack. We need to come to the rescue of these farmers. We need to help these farmers as they depend on these products during the glean season.”
Other issues
Shangpliang also spoke about road infrastructure, healthcare and education, among others.
He urged the state government to examine the Mawphlang-Balat road and Balat-Ringku road projects and pointed to the dilapidated condition of Trongpleng-Dangar road.
Shangpliang stressed the need to expedite the setting of a cancer hospital in Shillong.
Speaking on the education sector, he said the derelict lower primary schools in rural areas do not have blackboards or even books.
He asserted that there are teachers who do not attend to duties. “There are teachers whose names appear in the pay rolls but they cease to exist. The Education Department needs to be streamlined,” he added.
As for the Sports Department, he urged the state government to continue with the Mission Football launched by the previous government.
Commenting on the Social Welfare Department, Shangpliang said the Integrated Child Protection Scheme and the Integrated Child Protection Scheme were important but failed to make it to the governor’s address.
On the GAD, he said extension should be provided to Meghalaya House in Mumbai and Vellore to cater to those visiting the places for treatment.
He also spoke about setting up fire engines in rural police stations, setting up more banks, transport services like SPTS or MTC buses in rural areas.
NPP legislator Jim M. Sangma, who was a former deficit school teacher, addressed the concerns of deficit and ad hoc school teachers, including provincialisation of schools.
