By HH Mohrmen
Is it just ill luck or it is incompetence which has pushed the NPP-led, Meghalaya Democratic Alliance government to numerous roadblocks? The Conrad Sangma Government is up against the wall as faces one problem after the other without any respite. Meghalaya, like the rest of the world has lost two precious years combating the pandemic and now the Government under the leadership of the NPP is in for more trouble again. The second wave of the pandemic has no doubt brought the State to its knees, but the problems are far from over.
It can be said that the Government’s management of the first wave of the pandemic was somewhat better and it was being appreciated by many. Although a large section of the public questioned the amount of money spent by the Government in combating the first wave, but it was forgotten when things appeared to have returned to normal. People understand that Covid is a new disease so no government in the world be it at the State or Centre can claim that they were prepared for the pandemic.
The Government can’t however excuse itself for being ill-prepared for the second wave of the pandemic. Experts and scientists on the subject have already predicted that the second wave is imminent, but was the Government prepared for the looming crisis? The questions arises as to why there are more positive cases and higher mortality rates in the second wave than in the first wave? How can this happen when the Government had more than six months to prepare before the second wave hit the state? Did the State Government have a proper crisis management plan or does it still rely on a trial and error approach in dealing with the crisis.
Communities complained that this time around, high numbers of positive cases which ultimately led to the high mortality rates in the state are due purely to home isolation. This approach is unpractical and it is bound to backfire especially in the villages where families have to share the same bathroom if not rooms too. During the first wave of the pandemic communities were proactive in organising community isolation centres particularly for residents who came from outside. This had no doubt helped the Health Department in controlling the spread of the disease to the rural areas, but this year the situation is different. The Government will have to answer why cooperation from the community was not forth coming this time around?
Dealing with increasing numbers of positivity cases and mortality is one thing but the pandemic also brings along a host of other issues too. There were reports of waste of agricultural produce from villages which were dumped near the markets because there were no buyers. The farmers cannot afford to take back their produce to their villages and the only alternative is to throw them away. The question is why were the Agriculture and Horticulture departments not prepared for the eventuality? It seems like the two departments were caught off guard and there seems to be no support system for the farmers to help them connect to the consumers.
Media have depicted that the produce that reached the market were wasted, but what about the produce which are still in the fields? What we are not able to see are the agricultural produce that did not reach the markets. These are vegetables which the farmers have to leave to perish in the fields because of the lockdown. The question they ask is what is the need to harvest them when there is no market for the produce? It is true no one is prepared for a catastrophe of this magnitude but will people, particularly the farmers, ever forgive the Government for its failure? Now the Government is compelled to extend the lockdown for another week till June 14; what impact will this have on the people of? Only time will tell.
As if there is not enough trouble for the Government, and while the second wave is not yet over yet, one problem after another, lands up at its table. It is unfortunate that the Government which has its hands full in dealing with the second wave of the pandemic is now landed with yet another mining accident in East Jañtia Hills. Of course it would not have been a surprise has it not had happened during the lockdown when activities in the whole state have come to a close. But the question in everyone’s mind is – when everything was stopped and the State had literally some to a grinding halt, how can mining of coal continue? How can the State allow mining when there is a ban on rat hole mining? How can the Government can allow mining to continue when it is currently working with Coal India Limited to take on lease all coal mining activities in the state as per the Supreme Court’s order?
The Government has obviously failed in its duty to control coal mining in the state and accidents like this only confirm what environmental activists have been saying all along – that mining continues despite the court orders. Illegal coal mining in the district is bound to increase not only because supply of coal outside the state continues unabated, but now coal is also supplied to the coke factories in the region too.
The mushrooming of coke factory in the East Jañtia Hills particularly eleka Sutnga is a major cause of concern for the people in the area. Earlier eleka Sutnga suffered because water in the area turned acidic due to coal mining but now there are complains of air pollution due to the increasing number of coke factories.
Perhaps the most embarrassing crisis that the NPP which is leading the MDA government is currently facing is the allegation of rape against a party MLA. An FIR was filed by the victim against the MLA and this is going to be one major problem that both the Party and the Government will have to face.
Last but not the least is the news which appeared in the media that all the seven MLAs from Jañtia hills were up against their own Government. All the seven MLAs which include three ministers from Jañtia hills came out publicly to express their discontent over the manner in which the Government is handling different issues. They highlighted the absence of RT-PCR testing facilities in both the districts; the non availability of proper Corona Care Centres, the non- availability of oxygen plants at Khliehriat CHC. Other MLAs also highlighted the inter-state border dispute. The MLAs were also in consensus over the Power Department’s move to hand over maintenance of some of the sub-stations to BECIL.
So why did the Ministers and MLAs use the media to air their grievances against their own Government? Isn’t this a case of washing dirty linen in public? Why was this matter not discussed internally, when all the seven MLAs were part of the coalition Government? If the cabinet ministers themselves have to come out in the open against their own Government, then who is running the Government? Is it because Conrad Sangma is not listening not even to his own cabinet colleagues and is behaving like a despot now? More importantly are we witnessing the imminent collapse of the MDA before it even completes its tenure?
The other pertinent question is also with regards to the UDP which is the major partner in the coalition government. The leaders of the party who are not MLAs have time and again raised many pertinent issues, but it seems that their colleagues in the Government don’t take heed of their concerns. The demands of the UDP leaders vis-a-vis the MeECL have fallen on deaf ears. Isn’t it time then for the coalition partners to take stock and take a call before it is too late? The 2023 elections to the State Assembly is exactly one and half years away hence the MLAs need to ask if they are ready to face the voters? Are they going to continue with the Meghalaya ‘Dilemma’ Alliance?
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