Editor,
Through this letter I would like to bring to the notice of the authorities that there has been no supply of drinking water to Laitumkhrah area from December 1, 2020. On enquiry from the plumbers it is learnt that the main feeder line from Umkhen reservoir has broken down due to excessive rainfall received this year. Even though an official complaint was made by the taxpayers to the Shillong Municipal Board, however up to the time of writing this letter no response has been received. It is sad to learn that in times of pandemic when water becomes the most important source in combating the virus, the people of Laitumkhrah and its adjoining areas are being deprived of safe drinking water. While taxpayers honestly pay their SMB taxes so that services are not disrupted, it is unfortunate to see the sorry state of affairs of the service provider whose staff are also fighting to get their dues paid. Hope those manning the system and of course our public representative are aware that under their nose ‘all is not well’.
Yours etc.,
Wankitbok Pohshna
Ward 1, Laitumkhrah
Shillong-3
The Undefiled Wahdienglieng stream!
Editor,
On November 28, I had the privilege of walking from my residence to the Agriculture official quarters, Risa Colony, on some private errands. While on the verge of reaching my destination as I was crossing a small bridge hemmed in between two localities of Risa Colony and Wahdienglieng, I was in for a mind-blowing experience. I saw the crystal clear streamlet flowing under the bridge and was taken aback to recollect that just a few months ago this very stream was transforming into a dumping space but, lo and behold, now it has dramatically re-invented its avatar of yore. When I enquired from some residents living there about this unexpected sea-change, I was told that the local Rangbah Shnong of Wahdienglieng and its passionate volunteers have adopted a resolution to revert this moribund stream to its bygone iconic beauty by way of passing strictures that anyone found to be polluting the stream would have to pay a heavy penalty. To add teeth to this deterrent, residents had been advised to click photos on their mobiles etc., of any person who violates the order and thereafter the same may be communicated to the local authorities so that punitive action can be taken and the sender of such snapshot/s would also be rewarded. This order couldn’t have come at a better time! Such noble instances set by the locality in question ought to be veritably replicated by other localities of Shillong city as well. It is regrettable to observe that many streams, rivers, water bodies that were once the pride of our hill station are irrevocably vanishing,
Be that as it may, the aforesaid running stream of Wahdienglieng has impressed me deep enough to compare it to its counterpart ‘The Brook,’ a beautiful poem by Lord Tennyson where I, too, pray that this rivulet will maintain its undefiled self and keep resounding like the stream of Tennyson’s The Brook:
For men may come and men may go
But I go on forever.
Yours etc.,
Jerome K. Diengdoh,
Via email
Missing the Cherry Blossoms
Editor,
My family and I make it a point to come to Shillong during this season every year to see the Cherry Blossoms that dot the landscape of this lovely cheery city. This year Covid has played spoilsport. I was born and brought up in Shillong but my family shifted to Dibrugarh in the 1980s for reasons beyond our control. But a birthplace is something one remembers with much fondness and which one wants to touch base with as often as possible. I still have friends that I grew up with in Shillong and we are in touch. In my growing up years I don’t remember seeing so many Cherry Blossom trees blooming all at once like nature suddenly wearing a pink gown. People have put up pictures on social media and the scene is exquisite. How I miss this season in Shillong.
Of the many pleasant memories I have of Shillong are the lovely dining spaces like Pinewood Hotel which, according to me makes the best Indian food. There’s Cloud Nine if one wants a lovely Asian meal and, of late, City Hut Dhaba has become quite a favourite haunt of my family and friends. Shillong is known to be a place where one can just chill, listen to music while someone strums the guitar. Then in mid December the whole city is decked up for Christmas and I love visiting homes that have fireplaces. Everything is just so perfect. These are the joys that no one can take away from us. Not even the prospect of having to apply for a permit to enter the place of one’s birth. Of course, I am sad that this once cosmopolitan haven with genteel people who always welcome you home with genuine warmth might now join the ranks of those other states that have never come out of their cocoons to embrace the world. Shillong was never like that and I shudder to think what will become of this city once the ILP is implemented.
Be that as it may, I suppose the local people know best what’s good for them. But from what I understand, the people of Shillong no longer have any control over the future of Meghalaya. The polite and courteous Shillongites have chosen to remain silent while the narrative is now controlled by a new and audacious lot that feel they alone have the mandate to decide the future of Meghalaya. The profile of Shillong is fast changing and not for the better. So the Cherry Blossoms will bloom but will their admirers, I am afraid will dwindle with time. Ah! Whither my birthplace!
Yours etc.,
JK Baruah,
Dibrugarh
Baba Ramdev – an unsaintly businessman?
Editor,
Baba Ramdev has ostensibly done a great job by quickly identifying the important herbs for combating COVID-19. He wasted no time coming out with CORONIL which is selling like hot cakes now. Please consider yourself lucky if you get one from AMAZON or PATANJALI website. There’s an unprecedented demand for this wonder medicine from across the country. True, the composition has amazing restorative healing and immune-boosting properties. However one can only thank God for creating countless wonderful herbs and plants for mankind which are all free. What is amazing is, unlike chemically produced drugs they cure our ailments without side effects if properly used.
I also sometimes wonder how the Almighty is so “clever” that He did not add extra delicious “flavor and taste” to the majority of medicinal herbs as He has done for fruits such as orange, mango, pineapple, pomegranates et al. God well-knew that “greedy men” would then have “exploited” those medicinal plants only for themselves. They would have processed and marketed them across the globe only to make “quick money” and as a result, the poor natives would have been completely deprived of them for their health purposes. This is the reason why those plants with bitter and awfully pungent taste are still available freely in the jungles despite indiscriminate exploitation by bio-pirates and corporate.
Incidentally, though I have tremendous respect for a saintly person, I detest Baba Ramdev for his glaringly uncharitable attitude this time around. In this unprecedented COVID crisis, his Patanjali has priced Coronil at a whopping Rs 400. This is exorbitant considering the cost of ingredients used in the medicine and comparing their prices in the market when purchased by the quintal. Ashwagandha, Giloy, and Tulsi are three very “common” and considerably inexpensive herbs used in Coronil. If one breaks up and calculates the prices of the ingredients in bulk, the 120 Gm packet should not exceed Rs 100 or maximum Rs 150. Of course, given the expenditure involved in research, Patanjali could have raised an additional amount Rs 50 and pegged the price at about Rs 200. But Rs 400 per packet is not only unjustified but an open looting. Are the main sufferers in the pandemic crises not the weaker sections of people?
Taking the undue advantage in this COVID-19 crisis by the company owned by saintly persons is totally unbecoming. Many buyers have already expressed their deep displeasure against Patanjali’s exorbitant prices. What I am baffled about is that one who sincerely preaches the significance of “service to humanity” and the virtue of compassion in life can think otherwise and act otherwise. I feel the renowned Yogi like Ramdev should have considered this COVID crisis as an opportunity to practice the holy doctrine of serving humanity. But Baba Ramdev is behaving more like an unsaintly businessman. My reverence for the “sanayasi” has diminished.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali, Shillong