Editor,
The road connecting Motinagar with the old Jowai road at Fire Brigade is used by a number of localities such Lumdiengsoh, Lumsohphoh, Lumpyngad and parts of Lawjynriew. It is an area with a large population and high vehicle density made worse by the location of numerous government offices and residential quarters such as the AG colony, the Central Pool, the state government quarters, GAD, NEC etc. As one enters Motinagar from near Marbaniang petrol pump, the roadside parking of vehicles near the Bank of India, GSI office and beyond ensures a traffic jam almost every day. In fact most of the GSI office vehicles are always parked on the roadside causing obstruction to smooth flow of traffic. The other entry from behind the Pantaloons too is not without problems with roadside parking of trucks and other private and commercial vehicles on the entire stretch up to the mosque and beyond .
The question which city administrators need to answer is whether permanent roadside parking of vehicles in a public thoroughfare and obstructing the smooth flow of pedestrians and vehicles is legal and permissible? Second, can residential complexes, government offices and commercial establishments be allowed to use the public roads, as is being done in Motinagar as their private parking areas?
Can we borrow an idea or two from Sikkim, where no car can be registered unless the owner provides evidence of his/her own parking space? In Gangtok, even vehicles of bureaucrats, cops and politicians parked in violation of parking rules are booked. In fact a top cop once told me that in order to test whether the rules were being followed, he would park his official vehicle violating rules to see whether he would be booked. If not, the cop on duty would be asked for an explanation! Not long back we had a brave Shillong Traffic Police do the same to a big wig. This should become more of a regular practice in Shillong too. Moreover, the traffic jam which starts at Motinagar often has a spill-over effect on the highway. It is time the authorities got their act together and strictly designate No Parking areas. As it is, the narrow roads cannot take the burgeoning traffic so unless we ensure strict compliance of no parking on public roads, especially during the day, the situation will become impossible.
Yours etc.,
Sanjeeb Kakoty,
Shillong-14
Agriculture & allied sectors overlooked?
Editor,
The current sectoral budgetary allocations for 2019-20 to the 20 departments of the state as enunciated by Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on the floor of the State Assembly on March 12 last must have come as a cheer to some establishments like C&RD, Education and MGNREGS which garnered more than Rupees One Thousand Crores apiece of the share and, contrastingly, it may be a disillusionment of sorts to some others. Come what may, the powers that be must have done their homework thoroughly after a brain storming confabulations with the selected expertise in the line preceding the finalization of such mind boggling allocations, hence kudos to our Chief Minister and his party!
However, these budgetary allocations must have disillusioned the Agriculture and allied sector which have managed, so to speak, a pittance of Rs. 47 Crores i.e. markedly less than 0.7% of the sum total of the entire slice of budget allocations. These receipt portions can be dubbed as an irony, given the fact that Meghalaya is decidedly an agrarian driven economy with nearly 80% of the population engaged in farm managements for their bare livelihoods. Incidentally, the smallish shares apportioned to the agro-sectors couldn’t have come at a worse of time for the Agriculture Department as the latter is currently re-defining its notable role in the field of horticultural fruits like the Khasi Mandarin orange variety which has become popular globally for its unique flavour and in the field of vegetables and floricultures, etc where significant portions of the same are exported overseas.
It bears recall that our ex-Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had once asserted that agriculture was a vital engine of National growth and further re-iterated that everything can wait but not agriculture. No wonder then, Dr. Singh as an eminent economist has, inter alia, put agriculture on top priority.
Ironically, the current positioning of our Agriculture and allied sectors at the 17th position of the 21 departments must have reduced to a stage of non-plus to the sectors concerned!
Yours etc
Jerome K. Diengdoh,
Shillong-2
Exemplary punishment for acid attackers
Editor,
This refers to your report, “Acid attack is a crime that does not deserve clemency: SC” (ST- March 19, 2019), in India, acid has often been used as a weapon against women who have turned down advances by men. Acid attacks are seen as one of the most vicious crimes as it causes perpetual suffering to the victim. Perhaps the most dangerous thing about acid attacks is the fear they create. With just a few rupees, anyone can buy a weapon that can ruin another person’s life in just a few seconds. Part of the reason is that acid is cheap and widely available. Many Indians use concentrated acid to sterilize their kitchens and bathrooms, as Americans would use bleach. There is an immense need to come out with legal measures and medical reforms by our government to help these victims. Men who commit these crimes are usually spurned suitors who want to avenge their rejection. The men guilty of such crimes should be given exemplary punishment so that no one will ever think of attempting to ruin a girl’s life.
Yours etc.,
Vinod C. Dixit ,
Ahmedabad