Editor,
I fully agree with Sanjeeb Kakoty that roadside parking is a huge menace and is increasing by the day across the city. I have observed that the road from MPSC office and its nearby areas such as the MBoSE office in Lachumiere, the road from All India Radio to St Anthony’s College etc are always parked with cars even on very narrow space thereby obstructing the flow of traffic and causing massive jams. Flying squads should be engaged on a war footing to check this insurmountable problem immediately. The bend near DTO’s Office & PWD Office Lachumiere, the narrow road near the BJP office should be marked ‘NO PARKING’ once again. Will the Shillong Traffic Police please act immediately?
Yours etc.,
Reward Rymbai,
Via email
Stop exploiting the environment
Editor,
The unified stand taken by the Village Dorbar of Lumshnong on Tuesday to protest and voice their opposition towards the attempt of Star Cement to mine limestone from the area to feed its factory in the heart of East Jaintia Hills District, is something we should learn from. Unity indeed is Strength. The arm twisting tactics by the District Administration in collusion with cement firms is a well known fact. It is highly condemnable and disgraceful that instead of standing to protect the rights of the local community and especially the rights of the environment ( even nature has its rights) the district officials chose to send the local police armed with guns as if the locals are akin to terrorists. What nonsense is this!
For too long, the entire district of East Jaintia Hills was seen as a “gold mine.” It has borne the brunt of over exploitation and abuse that has affected the fragile eco-system, almost rendering the areas where limestone mining and cement manufacturing happens, totally lifeless. The once lively and pristine River Lukha that was the lifeline of the fish trade in the early days is now a dead river. Next we have the district’s largest wildlife sanctuary the Narpuh Forest Reserve.
Time to tell these cement firms and the state authorities that enough is enough. The people of Lumshnong have their fundamental Right to Life, their Right to Clean Air, Right to Clean Water, Right to Food etc. not only as human rights but as rights that cannot be bartered away for money, power and non-productive development. Period.
Yours etc.,
Dominic Wankhar,
Via email
Peoples’ manifesto
Editor,
The Election Commission has announced the itinerary for the Parliamentary election. Now, it is both our right and duty to vote and to elect a good candidate from our respective parliamentary constituencies. Before getting the top-down manifestos from the political parties, I want to place my bottom-up version for them. First of all, I want 100 per cent implementation of the recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission including land reforms to solve agrarian crisis. Second, I want a paradigm shift in bank loan policy from Non Performing Asset generating macro credits to job generating micro loans for farming, cottage and small scale industries. This is necessary to address the problem of unemployment which has at present reached an all time high in 45 years.
Third, I want 100 per cent implementation of the 2006 Forest Rights Act to honour the symbiotic relationship between forest dwellers and forests. Fourth, the next government must invest 6 per cent of national income in education and ensure Universal Quality Education as per the recommendations of the Kothari Commission. Fifth, double the number of government hospitals to give the commercial health sector a run for their money. Sixth, ensure total occupational safety for the highly risky jobs such as scavenging, mining and construction work.
Seventh, employment of rag pickers by Local Self Governments to promote recycling. Eighth, ensure minimum income guarantee for all the poor citizens of our country to alleviate poverty. Ninth, build separate lanes for bicycles in every major road to check road accidents. It will also check air pollution as separate lanes make more people opt for bicycles. Tenth, ensure quality midday meal to check malnutrition among children and dropout rate among students.
Eleventh, protect RTI and introduce a Lok Pal to check corruption. Twelfth, shift focus from unequal GDP growth to inclusive HDI growth. Thirteenth, promote tourism to generate employment and to foster fraternity. And fourteenth, make educational loans interest free to encourage higher education.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Via email
Conserve water to preserve life
Editor,
Kudos for your well-researched and informative article giving a significant message – World water day “India in severe crisis” (ST- March 20, 2019). Water is the base on which our life is built and is one of the most valuable resources of nature. It is an endless creation by God so people don’t take care. Can we imagine a day without clean water? No, not a single day of our lives can go on without water. In spite of having 70% of water on earth only 1% of water is fresh & useable and the other 97% of water is salty. 2% of water is in the form of ice in the glaciers & icebergs. Human beings are destroying the environment by wasting this 1% of clean water in various ways.
Day by day, it is becoming clear that water is going to be the biggest casualty of the modern development process. We are forced to buy clean drinking water after having polluted every known source. Nowadays mineral or purified water is billion dollar business. People are ready to spend Rs 20 for a water bottle as we know it’s not easy to get pure or clean water.
Increasing population and rapid urbanization has led to over-use of water resources leading to water pollution and scarcity. Rain, rivers and wells have been man’s traditional sources of fresh water. Global warming upsets natural patterns of rainfall. Rivers are slowly killed at their sources by steady destruction of forests and the construction of big dams, and over- exploitation of groundwater. Frantic use of water without any thought of conservation is a bad sign. We use water to wash away our dirt, but in turn we forget to clean the water.
We leap to blame nature whenever there is a flood or a water scarcity. On the other side experts feel that bad management of water resources has encouraged unsustainable use of water. Unless water is used equitably, and in a non-partisan manner, playing with it may prove to be more risky than playing with fire. A growing population and a consumptive lifestyle add to the depression. Development cannot be reversed. But technology could be reoriented to serve the dual purpose of conserving water and regulating its use. We have to pay attention to the importance of fresh water and be able to maintain the management of fresh water resources. Leaving aside global solutions, something should be done at the national and regional levels? Let’s join our hands in saving water as much as possible. Let our motto be “Save water, save life, save the world”.
Yours etc.,
Vinod C. Dixit
Ahmedabad