To Sunday Shillong,
This is in reference to the article ‘Street Dreams’ published in the December 9 edition. When we talk about Shillong, we only focus on the abundance of natural beauty, the floating clouds which create a magical effect, cherry blossoms and of course, the rock music. Cafes, which have mushroomed in large numbers in the city in the last few years, also make it to the itinerary list of any newcomer. But no tourism brochure or government propaganda will ever throw any light on the darker corners of the city, its urban poverty and constant abuse of human rights, especially child rights. But these are all part of the shameful reality that is part of our daily life here. The children whom we encounter everyday while walking on the streets of Shillong and chide them for blocking our way or soiling our starched clothes are also God’s gift. They are innocents who have innocent dreams, who can laugh and dance and be like any child of a privileged family. But it is their sheer luck that they were born in the filth that the society’s discriminatory behaviour creates. It is true that most of us do not even think about these poverty-stricken children when we celebrate Christmas or New Year or any occasion.
We rarely spend a penny on buying gifts for them. But how blissful these occasions would have been had every child got the opportunity to participate in merrymaking. And SPARK is doing exactly that. The organisation that reportedly does not have any government support is bringing smile on these children’s faces and giving them an opportunity to be part of every celebration. Above all, SPARK is trying to empower them with education. This is a laudable work and only a few have the determination to do this. It is the duty of every citizen to extend a helping hand so that these children can get back their childhood and do not have to worry about the uncertainties of future. But the question is how many of us are willing to do that?.
Thanking you
A concerned citizen
To Sunday Shillong,
This is in reference to the article ‘Pride no more’, published on December 2. Mawmluh Cherra Cement Ltd could have been the pride of Meghalaya had the successive governments handled the problems at the factory rightly. With no salary for months, it is surprising how the workers continued to work without complaining. While the government continued to spend crores on festivals it forgot to pay the workers’ salary. But none spoke for them, not even those organisations who usually go up in arms against the system for everything.
Everywhere along the highway one would find advertisement hoardings flashing names of private cement companies but nowhere can we see any advertisement of the local product. I think the government while allowing private companies to do business should also promote its product and not let it die. As one former legislator was quoted in the article saying the company is the pride of the state and indeed it is as not many companies are there in the state. So the government should go all out to safe the pride.
And if it is incapable of running the factory, then it should hand it over to a private player who can clear dues and pay the pending salary of the poor workers.
Thanking you
Gavin Kharshandy