Editor,
It is very unfortunate that till midday of January 3, 2019) none of the fifteen coal miners trapped under the illegal coal mines at Ksan near Lumthari village of East Jaintia Hills, Meghalaya, have been traced and recovered by the NDRF and SDRF despite the help of sea divers from the Indian Navy; the use of high powered water pumps and other expertise available in India so far. This shows that our country is still lagging behind even in matters like rescuing miners trapped under the earth of coal pits. When will our country manage to get the expertise for such rescue missions. This also shows that we are ill prepared and ill-equipped to deal with human tragedies like the one in East Jaintia Hills. We are only good at knee-jerk reactions. This is very sad and a tragedy indeed that we cannot rescue the miners after 22 days of being trapped inside the earth. It takes so much time to respond to the disaster that even after so many days we are grappling for answers which do not seem to be found anywhere. India is still far behind and the less said about Meghalaya the better. Hence while we are grappling for answers and solutions the fate of the trapped miners looks bleak. Perhaps what is left to be rescued are only dead bodies. Will this incident teach any lessons to the powers that be so that such eventualities are not repeated in future whether in rescuing trapped miners or victims trapped under the debris of an earthquake or any natural calamity.
Yours etc.,
Philip Marwein,
Via email
Vicious cycle of polls and loan waivers
Editor,
Recently, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, commented that the vicious cycle of polls/elections, and loan waivers must come to an end. This is very welcome, especially coming from the Prime Minister himself. However, we should restrain ourselves, and be cautious. It is a truth that India is always in an election mode, with elections for local bodies, municipalities, assemblies, parliament, etc being held one after another. It’s a loss of precious resources- financial, physical or otherwise- which also puts a strain on the government machinery, police, and also the public. However, this aspect needs to debated transparently, not only by the political parties, but also by the people. It should not be that one cycle of simultaneous elections should be an advantage to a political party or an agenda or a personality.
As far as farm loan waiver is concerned, it was the BJP which made big promises in UP, which paid rich dividends to the party in the assembly elections in that State. Now Congress has done the same thing in Rajasthan, MP, and Chattisgarh, which may have paid rich electoral dividends for the party. Fiscal discipline should be self-enforced by the political parties themselves.
Yours etc.,
A Bhuyan
Nagaon
Assam
Anything is possible in Meghalaya!
Editor,
Is it ever possible for Paul Krugman to be appointed Chief Economic adviser to the Trump administration? Or for Subramanian Swamy to be appointed Chief Economic Adviser to the newly formed Congress Government in Rajasthan? Or Steve Bannon being appointed Chief Strategist to the Maduro regime in Venezuela? Never in a million years, right? But DD Lapang is being appointed Chief Adviser to the MDA government in Meghalaya and subsequently also joined a new party. The old political warhorse has defied convention by choosing to start a new political innings. In the meantime, with utmost sorrow in her heart, the phrase, “Never the twain shall meet,” has fled away to a foreign land never to return to the State of Meghalaya, ever.
Yours etc;
Gary Marbaniang,
Via email