Editor,
From what we know about the Health Ministry’s instructions for vaccination drive in India, there is hardly any restriction on who can take the COVID-19 vaccine, except for the age factor. Health conditions, as such, do not matter, and it is more important that people with co-morbidities take the vaccine.
However, a few private hospitals are deviating from this protocol. They are checking blood pressure, and are advising those who land up in the hospitals for COVID-19 vaccination, to consult hospital doctors, for a fee, for clearance for the vaccination. This is extremely unfortunate.
In Government facilities, including PHCs, no such restrictions are observed and people are getting vaccinated for free, and without any prior testing.
The Government should publicly make the position clear so that people seamlessly take the vaccine, and make themselves safer from COVID-19.
Yours etc.,
D Bhutia,
Guwahati – 24
The shoe is on the other foot now!
Editor,
For quite a while now the fire and brimstones have fallen on MeECL and it’s entire establishment. Now with the news of scams exploding under the very nose of the so-called leaders named in the report there is no justification for Mr Shullet the President of the Coordination Committee of Registered MeECL (Employees) Associations and Unions (CCORMAU), MeECL Engineers’ Association and the Chairman of the MeECL Joint Action Committee, to claim innocence after being involved in manipulating the award of contracts to firms owned by his wife and relatives. If he demands a CBI inquiry on MeECL, I think that it should be the other way round. We the people ought to demand a CBI inquiry on him. The recurring losses faced by MeECL and power thefts would not have occurred without the involvement of those in authority manning crucial stations and sections in the establishment of MeECL. Now who the CBI should investigate is a matter that we the people should demand in order to set things right in the MeECL.
Yours etc..
Dominic Stadlin Wankhar
Shillong:3
Height of hypocrisy
Editor,
Why is media attention on the Power Department for the last few months? We’ve seen allegations levelled against the Power Minister and the CMD of MeECL for quite some time. The MEA, the CCORMAU as well as the UDP has continuously pressurised the Government to relieve Mr James Sangma and Arun Kumar Kembhavi from their assigned posts alleging that they are behind all the mess in the MeECL.
At first, the move initiated by these parties seemed valid and logical but as time passed we could see fresh reports that things are not as simple as made out to be. In fact things took a U-turn after the CMD made a surprise inspection at Byrnihat, where he alleged that some of the engineers from MeECL were involved in various illegalities occurring in some of the industries.
However, the CCORMAU led by its President Pradip Kumar Chullet and Vice President Arju Dkhar along with other officials came up with a press conference stating their arguments and opinions on several issues related to the Power Department and have sought an independent probe into the alleged ‘irregularities’ in MeECL. The Union has also threatened to agitate if the Government fails to address their concerns and demands within April 26.
Now what’s interesting is that right after the statement given by the Union, fresh cases against the MeECL union leader Pradip Kumar Chullet surfaced, accusing him of corrupt practices and financial irregularities in the Corporation. Sources have revealed that Chullet, who served as a senior electrical inspector from 2011-2018, had awarded multi-crore contracts to one I.S. Enterprise, a firm run by his wife Aynla Imsu. It is said that Chullet had allegedly awarded tenders without assessing the technical experience of I.S. Enterprise and had deliberately removed mandatory requirements of expertise for quotations and proposals to accommodate the firm.
Let us dig further into the alleged corrupt practices that the leader was involved in. Media sources reveal that Chullet has split large quotations into 106 small quotations below ₹ 50,000 to avoid floating of tenders in the public domain so that they could be directly awarded to the firm. Payments to the firm were also cleared without taking any bank guarantee from it. The sources said Chullet accepted quotations for 8-watt LED lamps at ₹ 850 per unit which is ₹ 600 more than the market price. For a basic two-minute promotional video, the firm was also paid ₹ 50,000 without any assessment of its technical capabilities. According to the documents found, it also shows that he had purchased a 60-watt LED streetlight for ₹ 28,700 while the market price of such a bulb is not more than ₹ 1,800. Now that’s a huge amount of deviation because a profit of ₹ 26,900 is being made for such a small item such as a bulb.
What’s more alarming is that back in 2018, a complaint was filed against Chullet for nepotism, conflict of interest and abuse of power with a copy marked to the CBI. Now, these are some serious allegations laid before the same person who days before, called for an independent enquiry into the irregularities of the MeECL.
So why are the Associations against the reforms that the Power Minister and the CMD have brought forward? Is it because before the reforms, corruption was rampant and there were no checks and balances? Was manipulating bills so easy in the past decades? If so, then it is obvious why all the drama in the MeECL is happening in the past few months. Is it right to point fingers at someone else if the same person is involved in such corrupt practices? Were they creating all the dramas to save their own backs? This is hypocrisy at its height! And the leaders involved in such corrupt practices should be brought to book!
Yours etc.,
Abigail Syiemlieh,
Shillong – 1