Editor,
Ration cards are issued to households that meet the eligibility criteria set by the Government. Here the case is just the opposite as the poor are deprived of their due while the rich are enjoying those benefits. The rich do not actually consume the rice from Fair Price Shops. They exchange it for better quality rice after paying the difference or sell off that rice to the Fair Price Shop owner. This is happening even now at the time of the pandemic. Where is the humanity here? It is high time for the Government to come out of Quarantine and re-verify who is eligible for ration cards and who isn’t. I have applied for a ration card at the DC’s office three years ago and have yet to receive it. In some cases, people without a ration card are also given ration. This happens because the local Dorbar Shnong selects the beneficiaries and tends to favour some and not others. It’s good to see the youth of the state and other civil society groups providing food items to people in need but this is a temporary solution. The ration card is the only permanent solution for the poor. We hope the Government takes necessary action at the earliest and that those in charge of administration have their noses to the ground and understand the sad realities.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request,
Via email
BSNL fails its customers
Editor,
Through your esteemed daily I want to express my anguish over the BSNL indifference to its consumers especially during this lockdown period. My broad-band ( phone no. 2545610) was not working since March 22, 2020. I made a complaint on March 23, 2020 and reminded them every day after that but till date the service has not been restored. I am a government employee, and was given the opportunity to work from home but because of this problem I didn’t achieve anything work-wise. I pay the telephone bills well in time except this time where the last date was March 25, 2020 and I could not pay the bill as my internet is not working.
On one or two occasions someone from BSNL called to enquire if the service is restored to which I answered in the negative. I’m truly disappointed that this has happened in such a time like this when no work can be done without Internet connectivity. To add to my woes my mobile connection is also with BSNL, so too those of my family members. BSNL network is as good as not having internet facilities at all.
Will the BSNL authority take action?
Yours etc.
M Nongrum,
Via email
Errant cement plants
Editor,
Apropos, the news report, “Fish die in Lukha River again,” (ST Sunday April 26, 2020) I am grateful to the ST correspondent from Jowai who has brought out the grave issue to the public domain. I hope that the authorities concerned will act swiftly on this important environmental issue. The pollution of the River Lukha has been going since the past fourteen years if not more and various species of aquatic lives have perished ( of which many species have become extinct because of this). The media has been reporting the seriousness of the issue again and again yet the Government of Meghalaya is maintaining a stoic silence and in fact it squarely puts the blame on coal mining thereby siding with the cement factories. The fact of the matter is that the main cause of the pollution (Lukha river water turning blue) is because of the toxic wastes discharged from the giant cement plants in East Jaintia Hills, under Narpuh Elaka. This is corroborated by the fact that the river water turned blue since the cement plants started production sometime in 2007. It is unfortunate that the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) had at one time also squarely blamed coal mining as the cause for the change of colour of the water. I am encouraged to know that the KSU, Narpuh circle, has decided to file a complaint with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) concerning this issue. We hope that the Tribunal will take immediate appropriate action against the erring plants.
Yours etc.
Philip Marwein,
Shillong-2
Suggestion for Fair Price Shop dealers
Editor,
Barring a few, the support extended by the Fair Price Shop (FPS) dealers to the consumer is praiseworthy. Rain or shine, they work with dedication trying their utmost to ensure that the food grains are distributed to the consumer as promptly as possible. For this, they deserve a pat on their backs. However, here is one suggestion. We request those dealers who still use traditional measuring systems such as tins, pots or baskets to weigh the rice ration to use the standard measuring scales authenticated by the Department of Weights and Measures. Many poor consumers have complained about the short-measurement of rice from the FPS dealers. Let the dealers now switch over to the electronic weighing machine to weigh the food-grains. Consumers have the right to get their money’s worth, especially at this time when many are without jobs and are suffering great financial constraints in this long period of lockdown.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
Time to have a state medical college
Editor
Much has been written in these columns and articles about the preparedness of Meghalaya to tackle the Covid 19 pandemic especially in the wake of the positive cases that have unfortunately been detected which also sadly claimed the life of a reputed doctor in the state. I would refrain from commenting on this matter as it might affect the morale of our health workers and others who are tirelessly working to fight and contain the dreaded disease. However,the ongoing testing process of the primary and secondary contacts is taking a long time, which adds to the anxiety and tension of the concerned persons in particular and the general public in general. In this connection, as per the data provided, around 1% of the tests are positive which is quite encouraging. But perhaps, the public may kindly be enlightened on the statement of the Government that 99 % of the tests are negative as on April 23, 2020 pending the confirmation of test reports of samples which are still awaited.
As regards the testing process, it is clear that Meghalaya is handicapped as it has to depend on NEIGRIHMS and Assam for the conduct of the required tests. Let us not forget that although it has six ICMR accredited Covid 19 testing facilities, Assam is also combating the same disease and has its obligation to its own citizens and other states which may need its help and support. There is, therefore, an urgent need to complete the construction of the medical colleges in Meghalaya which will stand us in good stead in health emergencies like the present one. Such medical colleges would be able to provide better health care in their respective hospitals and also provide the best advice to the government on all medical related issues. Moreover, unlike the SARS and other viruses, experts seem to suggest that the Covid 19 virus is not going to disappear soon. So, I sincerely hope that the government takes this issue seriously.
Yours etc.,
Name withheld on request