BY Patricia Mukhim
“Truth is a battle of perceptions. People only see what they’re prepared to confront. It’s not what you look at that matters, but what you see. And when then different perceptions battle against one another, the truth has a way of getting lost. And the monsters find a way of getting out.” Emily Thorne
Perception comes from the word perceive which means to sense or feel something; some emotion and to form one’s opinions based on those sensory experiences. The mining tragedy in the Ksan mine, Jaintia Hills has given a very negative perception of the Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) Government. It is seen as being uncaring and indifferent about the loss of human lives. Home Minister, James Sangma seemed clueless about what’s happening on the ground at the mine disaster site. That’s because he has not visited the site yet. And neither has Chief Minister Conrad Sangma, if only to empathise with family members of those who lost their sons in the quest for a livelihood. Perhaps there is unease on the part of the Government since it has been denying that there is illegal mining happening in all the mines of Meghalaya be it Jaintia Hills, Garo Hills or West Khasi Hills. At no time has a lie been exposed by the gory facts of the mine disaster.
The District Administration of East Jaintia Hills too was on the back-foot. For every crisis in Meghalaya the standard operation procedures (SOPs) are given short shrift or they don’t exist. From the 31 May incident at Punjabi Lane to the Jaintia Hills mine disaster the public perception is that the authorities are groping in the dark. The public perception is that the MDA Government lacks the maturity to handle the cut and thrust of governance. Other than Messrs Prestone Tynsong and AL Hek and the Sangma brothers who held ministerial positions for a short while in 2008, all the other ministers are greenhorns and cannot be expected to contribute much to the tough call of governance. The ineptitude in handling matters small and big is unfolding before us.
The Jaintia Hills mine tragedy has called attention to Meghalaya and naturally those who head the state and the two power centres the CM and HM are both in the firing line – this time by the national media. Both have been found wanting in terms of how they grasped the situation on the ground and whether they have done enough for those miners trapped to their deaths in a watery grave. When even after thirteen days have passed not a single minister of the MDA Government, including the minister in charge of disaster management have visited the tragedy site the public perception is that this Government does not care about those miners because they and their families don’t have Voice and therefore No Agency. Hence they are dispensable. Imagine if some children or relatives of some politicians were to be similarly trapped! I am sure then that the relief equipments would have been air-lifted.
Only on the 14th day of the mine mishap did two ministers of the MDA Government – Education Minister, Lahkmen Rymbui and Disaster Management Minister, Kyrmen Shylla finally visit the site of the tragedy, perhaps because they too have been called out by the media. And it was saddening to hear that they were representing the Chief Minister who is currently in Delhi. Someone recently remarked that Chief Minister Conrad Sangma spends his weekends in Delhi. May we ask why? Is Delhi now the new headquarters of Meghalaya?
As far as the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) is concerned the perception is that they are ill equipped to handle mine accidents such as the present one. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) arrived to assist but without the necessary equipments. Do they have the 100HP pumps to suction out water from the 70 ft long shaft? No they don’t, so they need to ask for those from the Kirloskar Brothers who had rendered assistance to the rescue mission in Thailand where 13 school children were trapped inside a cave. Obviously the requisition for the pumps has to go through a bureaucratic process which took its own time. The public perception is that the District Administration lacked the sense of urgency. Now we are told that even NDRF personnel cannot dive below 30 feet. Mining expert Jaswant Singh Gill who had earlier helped to rescue 65 miners from the flooded Mahabir mines of Raniganj in West Bengal had volunteered to assist in the rescue mission. It was he who suggested that the at least 10 pumps with a horse power of 100 each was needed to suction out the water from the 70 feet mine.
The public perception is that Mr Prestone Tynsong is holding fort for the CM each time he travels which is very frequent. With so much of travel, including campaigning for his party wherever elections are held, Conrad Sangma is unsure if he is the NPP Chief or the Head of the State of Meghalaya. He reminds us of Mr Narendra Modi who has to campaign for every state election and leave governance to others which is perhaps why the NDA Government is today floundering on all fronts. Conrad Sangma has to decide if he is the NPP chief or the Chief Minister of Meghalaya and which of the two are his priorities. Else this ambivalence will cost Meghalaya dearly.
The next question to ask Conrad Sangma is whether he has figured out what exactly ails Meghalaya? After so many months of being in the driving seat has the CM waded through the mess and sorted out his priorities? What about his views on the whole mining business? Is his Government going to come up with a Mining Policy that will address environmental concerns and mine safety? Or will he dilly-dally like the previous government did and try to dig in his heels instead into the futile argument that Meghalaya is a Sixth Scheduled State and can therefore claim immunity from the national mining laws? Does he want to promote the climate of laissez faire in the coal mining business rather than usher in a progressive mining policy? Is he concerned about the need to reduce the extraction of fossil fuels because of the horrific impacts on the environment which ultimately leads to climate change?
And now that another member of the Sangma family – Agatha Sangma – is heading the State Climate Change Panel with the perks of a minister, it is time to question her too on what she feels about the illegal coal mining business? Doesn’t rat hole mining hurt the environment and cause incalculable and irreversible harm to it apart from exposing miners to huge risks? Is Ms Sangma going to detoxify the rivers of Jaintia Hills? What is ironic is that illegal coal mining is continuing but the Panel is silent on this issue. Isn’t this then a conspiracy of silence? Was this Climate Change Panel meant to really work on a clearly stated mandate? The public perception is that this Panel was created only to accommodate the former MLA for vacating the seat for her brother to contest from Tura? The perception today is also that the Sangma family wants to concentrate all powers within the family. This is not very different from the Mukul Sangma regime with different members of the same family holding positions of power. That this concentration of power within single families is allowed to happen in a democracy only goes to show that the Meghalaya voter has not come of age. And that Rahul Gandhi the leader of the Congress dynasty has many admirers and followers here in Meghalaya.
In the battle of perception, the MDA Government has disappointed those who genuinely admired it and expected it to deliver. The less said about the regional parties supporting this Government the better! They don’t seem to have any say at all in how the Government is run and at the moment seem keen to launch into the district council elections than in thinking about governing the state of Meghalaya. The only action taken by this Government so far is to transfer officers and police officials in certain districts to facilitate illegal mining and transportation of coal. That too is a public perception. And the monster of bad governance is out there!