Editor,
For a long time the schools located along the Dhankheti to Don Bosco and Dhankheti to Fire- Brigade have stubbornly refused to use school buses to transport their children to and from school. The parents of children studying in these schools use the public road to park their vehicles when they come and drop and pick up their children. The public have had to suffer this inconvenience because the politicians bureaucrats and the wealthy of this city all send their children to these schools so those in power don’t want to offend the heads of these institutions. The public have remained a mute spectator because they are helpless as always and look to politicians to solve their problems. These are issues that are not going to be taken up by any pressure group or NGO because their children or those of their relatives also study in these schools so there is a quid pro quo here.
The heads of these institutions know that they are in a safe position since they have the government and all politicians on their side hence they continue to promote the use of private vehicles by the parents to drop their children to school. By doing this they are also showing the other schools that are using school buses that they can get away by not following a more egalitarian mode of transporting students to and from school by school buses.
Some deputy commissioners in the past had tried to negotiate with these schools to use school buses to reduce the traffic congestions but to no avail. I therefore commend the Shillong Traffic Police (STP) for taking the right step to discipline these schools and the willful parents. One or two parents taking umbrage at this new traffic arrangement should not compel the Traffic Police to change their stance. It is heartening that we now have the STP which thinks of the convenience of the general public and will not kowtow to the demands of a few parents and school administration.
We the public, and I know I speak on behalf of many commuters, thank the STP for doing what should have been done a long time ago. The public road is not for parking and parents of St Edmund’s School, Loreto Convent, St Peters, St Anthony’s and St Mary’s school children should put pressure on the school authorities to use school buses. And those who say they have no space to park school buses inside their premises have no right to run schools in this day and age.
Yours etc.,
G Lyngdoh,
Via email
Woes of a parent
Editor,
Apropos, the letters, “Why grudge parking of small vehicles?” (ST Feb 25, 2020) and “Schools must provide parking space” (S.T. Feb 26, 2020) I fully endorse the view that Loreto Convent School must try and help ease the situation that parents/ guardians are facing if they could open up the gates and allow them to park their vehicles just as long enough as it takes to pick up their wards from school, keeping in mind the class and timings at which they get over.
Moreover, the old Jowai Road along the Asom Kristi Kendra Stretch where No Parking Signs have been put up recently has caused a lot of hardships to us parents/ guardians. The indiscriminate clamping of vehicles along this stretch has made matters worse.
This is an appeal to the Shillong Traffic Police as well if they could coordinate with the School Principal regarding the timings at which schools get over and allow parking of vehicles only for the duration that it takes to pick up the children from school. It would really ease the dilemma that we are facing as parents.
Yours etc.,
An aggrieved parent
(Name withheld on request)
Kudos Rangbah Shnong, Lama Villa
Editor,
Citizens who harbour civic responsibility must have been bowled over by the example set by the Rangbah Shnong and senior personalities of Lama Villa locality in Shillong when they along with the local MLA, Mohendro Rapsang and a top official of P.W.D. Meghalaya visited this locality on February 5, 2020. They came to identify some households who cannot own vehicles for want of minimum possible space fit for entry for even a small vehicle because of standing residential structures, walls etc. The village elders exhibited their wisdom by asserting that owners of residential buildings which are a bottleneck to vehicular movement should part with a portion of the land-strip thereby enabling motorable passage into the inaccessible houses. Moreover, the PWD Officer in question had assured that he was willing to pitch in depending on a mutual and positive agreement amongst the concerned stakeholders.
This noble gesture is worth appreciating and the Rangbah Shnong and elders of Lama Villa, as also the MLA concerned must be roundly saluted for aspiring towards a unique social scheme of no less importance for the deprived households as this will go a long way in addressing problems such as a raging fire or other disasters. If this materializes the fire tenders can rescue lives and properties in a jiffy. The recent dreadful inferno which gutted the Church of God at Qualapatty, Shillong and claimed two precious lives must have given a wake-up call to the residents of this locality.
Mr Rapsang as an MLA of 18-West Shillong constituency may also extend similar help to several households around Lower Mawprem, which likewise fall under his electoral constituency. They too suffer similar problems. Repeated appeals have been made by residents to some leaders, representatives etc, in this context but the same ended as non-starters. Also those occupying the approach paths to the non-motorable houses are dead set on not parting with even an inch of the land space in helping the unfortunate neighbours who are badly deprived of a motorable road as this has become an over-riding pre-requisite in case of natural calamities and personal catastrophes. I hope the Rangbah Shnong of Mawprem and Mr Rapsang as elected representative will take a leaf out of the community leaders of Lama Villa in their noble endeavours.
Yours etc
Jerome K Diengdoh
Shillong-2