Editor,
On November 2, 2019 traffic within Shillong city came to a grinding halt. Commuting from one place to another within the city limits became a nightmare especially for school children, office goers, business men, emergency medical cases even for ambulances, for the old and the sickly as a matter of fact for all and sundry. It was all because of the police rehearsals in traffic management for the forthcoming visit of the President of India as on the November 4 he attends the NEHU convocation. Bumper to bumper snarls were occurring all over the city and it took more than one and a half hours to travel from Mawlai to Jaiaw. Similar experiences were shared by commuters of Umlyngka, Laimer, Laitumkhrah, Nongthymmai and you name it. One expects that the same traffic chaos, madness and frustration will once again occur on the 4th Of Nov, the actual day of the Presidents visit.
I don’t think the Police need be blamed for the fiasco as they have to adhere to provisions of the Blue Book and nilly willy conduct dress rehearsals and stop normal traffic for the security and safe passage of the VVIP. It’s the route that the President will take, along the narrow roads of Shillong that is to blame for the dilemma we find ourselves in. The President lands at the IAF Helipad at 7th mile, travels from one end of the city to the other, repeats it on his return to the helipad and all of this for a one hour convocation programme at NEHU. A VVIP whirlwind visit of one hour and the entire city and its hapless citizens are held to ransom for three miserable days. I think it’s unfair and totally uncalled for, seeing the fact that there is ample and adequate landing space for the President’s helicopter within NEHU campus itself. The chopper could have landed and taken off from there itself without causing all this unnecessary misery for the common man. It’s bewildering as to what prevented the authorities from doing so?
Yours etc.,
Toki Blah,
Via email
No respite from hawkers
Editor,
Hawking whether carried out by tribals or non-tribals poses a lot of inconvenience to the general public. These people simply open shop at any free space they find and pavements have become their favourite space. It may not be wrong to state that they do not mind spreading their wares in the middle of the road, on pavements or around monuments like the one in Motphran; a place where pedestrians, hawkers and vehicles collide and rub shoulders against each other, thereby posing a threat to several lives. Be it Motphran, Iewduh, Police Bazar, Civil Hospital, Laitumkhrah to name a few, the point is that hawkers are indiscriminately occupying public spaces to the extent that there seems to be no place for pedestrians to walk on or pass by with ease. If anyone steps on their wares they are sure to be met with shouting and verbal abuse with language not only jarring to the ears but also very offensive. These hawkers have shamelessly occupied public spaces yet they do not have any inhibitions or conscience about it. Granted that they are merely earning their livelihood and making ends meet but not at the cost of causing inconveniences and posing a threat to fellow citizens!
Therefore one is forced to reiterate that whether the hawker and vendor is a local tribal or a non-tribal, no one has the right to inconvenience the rest of the citizens of the state. Sadly the state government has not been able to tackle the menace of rampant hawking in the state capital. In fact it appears that the problem and discomfort faced by the common people are not being heard by our representatives in the government but are rather simply ignored.
However, when the Khasi Hills Autonomous District Council came up with the initiative to check the rampant business of hawking, for a moment, one saw a ray of hope. The KHADC Chief Executive Member, Teinwell Dkhar, stated and I quote: “We will not allow any hawker who causes inconvenience to the general public. The footpath is meant for the pedestrians and not for hawkers. We will take action against any hawker obstructing the footpath.” (The Shillong Times, October 12, 2019). Dkhar’s statement implied that the KHADC was serious with the checking and eviction of “any” hawker, be it tribal or non-tribal, at least in areas that fall within its jurisdiction. Alas this was not to be for according to another KHADC Executive Member, Paul Lyngdoh, the interest of the KHADC is not to check rampant hawking on footpaths but simply to evict only non-tribals who do not have a trading licence as per the Trading by Non Tribals Act, 1954 and Rules 1959 as amended in 2019. Well this clearly indicates that KHADC is least interested in rampant hawking on footpaths and to alleviate the discomfort caused by the hawkers. Rather the KHADC is more concerned about trading licence. As pointed out by Paul Lyngdoh, eviction of hawkers comes within the purview of the state government (such as the Eviction from Public Premise, 1980) and the KHADC has no role in it. This then means that hawking will continue on streets and footpaths by tribal hawkers and also by non-tribal hawkers who can procure a trading licence,
Hence, be it the state government or the KHADC, the citizens are left in the lurch. For while the state government cares less about the people or the hawkers, the KHADC only cares about trading licences. Time and again, many like-minded people have expressed the need for hawkers to be provided a space of their own so that they can trade peacefully without causing any inconvenience to others yet these have fallen on the deaf ears of the state government. The question is will the general public be allowed to use the footpaths with ease? Ironically the answer is known to all. It is sad but true that we have a state government that cares less about the people of the state and the ray of hope in the KHADC has only exposed the callous attitude of those in the helm of affairs!
Yours etc.,
Jenniefer Dkhar,
Via email