Editor,
The killing of thirteen civilians by the Army in a botched counter insurgency operation in Mon District of Nagaland and then terming it as a case of mistaken identity is tantamount to war crimes during peace times as well as homicide. With the Mon killings the AFSA is once again in the limelight. The Supreme Court in the case Naga People’s Movement of Human Rights v Union of India (1998) upheld the constitutionality of the AFSPA, but gave certain cautions in the form of ‘dos and don’ts’ by the armed forces chief. How effective these dictums have been can be gauged from reports of the various committees constituted in the past to assess the impact of the AFSPA. The Justice Santosh Hegde Committee (2013), appointed by the Supreme Court to look into the extra-judicial killings in Manipur found that, that the Dos and Don’ts dictum of the Supreme Court hold no significance in the field and the army has not been following them. However, a case like this does call to question the moral and ethical values of the most respected organisation of the country. While operational situations may demand taking bold and aggressive decisions , at no stage should human values be subverted during counter-insurgency.
Yours etc
Advocate M Haque.
Shillong -6
Meghalaya and development
Editor,
Browsing through the newspaper it’s heartening to note the comments of our Education Minister Mr Rymbui on efforts to operationalize technical varsities and colleges by next year. Everyone would agree it’s about time as so aptly pointed out by Barnes Mawrie in his write-up, ‘Fifty years of statehood: A soul searching event.’
Half a century of statehood and we don’t have much to show in terms of real development. As we all know most of our funds come from the central government and a lot of it is pumped into the economy of our state but somehow along the way they dissipate and don’t really reach the target population. We finally have an Education Policy in our state after much efforts by educators and members of civil society including those in governance. One can only hope and pray that it takes seed and is put into execution by next year.
As observed by Barnes Mawrie, the poor can’t think of educating their children beyond the graduation level because of the high cost of education. With our government institutions as pointed out in my earlier letter not having viable infrastructure and private institutions charging exorbitant fees, our poor are thus left behind in this march of progress towards the 50th year of statehood.
For salaried employees that wish to give our children professional or higher education, we have no option but to send them outside the state for dearth of such institutions in our state.
Coming to the field of medicine, many of our people have to rush to our neighbouring state for treatment because some of the facilities in our government medical institutions are not available or not in working condition. Those suffering from Cancer have to travel for 2 hours, to avail radiation therapy for about half an hour and then travel back. Only those who have the means can stay overnight and pay extra apart from the treatment. Why can’t those in power think about all this while formulating policies and suggest practical solutions?
As we embark into the 50th year of statehood, let us look forward to development in the real sense of the word and work together as citizens where we can proudly claim that Meghalaya is indeed on the road to progress and prosperity in all aspects and we can look forward to the Statehood day as a really happy occasion and not a ceremony of lip service.
Yours etc.,
Angela Lyngdoh
Shillong -14
Meghalaya not so lucky
Editor,
The news report captioned, “Bigger aircrafts cannot operate from Umroi Airport : Aviation expert,” (ST Dec 6, 2021) is bad news though this was known since a couple of years ago. The newly appointed aviation expert Mr Uday Rawat, according to the news report, lamented that Meghalaya was unfortunate not to have experts in the field of aviation to have sorted out the obstacles. It appears that Mr Rawat is not informed of the involvement of the DGCA in the slicing of the two hillocks and the issues that cropped up. In the final survey in which the Public Accounts Committee was also present ( being strict on expenditure), the DGCA had proposed, after a careful survey to attempt to approach the Airport from over the Umiam lake for which one hillock needed to be sliced. In the second survey, they discovered that another hillock too needed to go. The slicing was completed but to their dismay they discovered that a third hill also needed to be cut.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, even after the slicing of the third hillock there was another problem. The portion of the newly built NH6 needed to be rerouted with a portion of the church building to be removed and minor shift of the high KV transmission lines. All these were in the daily news those days. With these new developments that were not in favour of the airport expansion it was time to finally call it a day. Umroi airport was tagged as a category 3C airport. A 3C airport is one that has no instrument landing facilities and operates only during daylight hours. Thus 3C is a precise approach and landing system with no decision on height and no runway visual range limitation, which means it can land with zero visibility BUT for Boeing and Airbus, the pilot has to have thousands of hours of flying experience and with the crew monthly in a simulator, subjected to worst case scenario. There are very few 3C airports in India; perhaps just 3 or 4.
Meghalaya is unfortunate in that before the Umroi Airport was finally selected, there was a proposal to use the long range land at the southern foot of U Lumshyllong ( 6445 feet ASL) But whether it was land requisition problem or the usual dragging of feet for reasons best known to the powers that be, is difficult to say. We notice this even in changing the route of highways which were stalled for years like the NH 6 at Umsning.
Two pertinent questions need to be asked. The Boeing 747 became operational in 1968, around the very years that work on Umroi Airport began. Why did the planners not foresee the need for an airport suitable for 747 to land on? Instead, they were satisfied with Dakota and Fokker Friendship flights. That apart why did the DGCA fail, with all the satellite coordinates and computers by then at their disposal, to foresee that slicing the hillocks would never yield results? The slicing had cost the Government of India quite a lot .And with these hillocks of historical ,and cultural significance the sacrifice was not small.
If appropriate land elsewhere around Shillong within say 50 Km could be surveyed, it would be a blessing for the people of Meghalaya ( fare wise). Most importantly, with aviation industries all over the world aiming, one day to be CO2 free by shifting to hydrogen or electricity (fares may shoot up),the Govt needs to settle on that airport of the future, with no more alterations needed on shifting from one airport to the other. All we need is the vision to meet the parameters to capture the mercury rise of 1.5 Celsius by 2030 – the deadline mankind is hoping for.
Yours etc.,
W Passah,
Via email