Editor,
Apropos of the letter, “Meghalaya still controlled by Assam” by Jubanlak Lyngdoh (ST Feb 22, 2022), I fully agree with the writer. The NGT had banned coal mining in 2014. Yet we recall those 16 rat hole miners who died in the Ksan mines, of which 3 were local Jaintias. This was followed by another mine accident at Krem Lule not far from Ksan and 15 Kms from the office of the DC’s East Jaintia Hills and recently in Shallang. The fact is that the NGT ban had never affected the mining or transportation of coal. And the Police Department has not only completely failed to prevent coal mining and transportation but has assisted in the process. When two activists Agnes Kharshiing and Anita Sangma dared to investigate this illegal coal mining they were brutally attacked.
Coal trucks cover their load with tarpaulin. Few handymen are equipped with a 2 feet brush and before the checkpoint they clean off the dust. Only when trucks overturn is the whole crime exposed. There is no doubt that the NGT ban on coal mining had hit the poor miners hard. The coal barons have nothing to lose. The poor miners risk their lives to engage in the deadly rathole mining.
I fully agree with the writer that the DGP cannot wash his hands clean of the free for all mining and transportation and let us not forget overloading. Yes weigh-bridges are only for collecting money for the over-loaded coal but the money does not go to the government coffers. The most reliable weigh-bridges are (1) Dwarksuid and (2) Puriang, Riat Turiem and Sohshrieh that today are the workshops of smashed engines, broken gearboxes and snapped axles, sleeping for weeks. And it all happens in broad daylight and in the dark of the night.
Yours etc.,
W.Passah
Nongkrem
Why the Lukha turns blue
Editor,
Sad to read about the poisons flowing in the Shillong rivers. All of us who have lived in Shillong right from the 1950s could predict what would happen to the rivers in the 1980s because they were not shown any respect. The first victim was the river Demthring when a no man’s land – a triangle of hardly 8m base and 10m height – was expanded to build a house at the elbow on which the bridge stands right now (about 50 metres from the source). The width of the river was reduced to 2 metres. Now from that source till Polo Bazar, buildings housing 20 to 25 tenants were allowed to stand right on the river.
The Wah Umkhrah has become a common septic tank. Upstream cars are being washed without any regulations. Umshyrpi is no different, especially with medical wastes being allowed to flow into the river. The river Myntdu captured the headlines recently. Even with alum and bleaching powder added to the Greater Shillong Water Supply Scheme (GSWSS) it may not be sufficient. It is advisable to boil water or filter it.
Coming to the Lukha river in Jaintia Hills, it first exhibited it’s blue colour in 2007, six to seven years after Star Cement was established. A team of St Edmund’s college students and teachers rushed to find out the reason. Their findings were that the pH balance of the River Lukha was 3.5 and PPM only 3 when the minimum required to support life is 7. The report was shown to the Meghalaya State Pollution Control Board (MSPCB) but since it was not a governmental report, it was not considered damning enough. Hence it was simply ignored.
Then the River Lukha became severely abrasive which could be attributed to the calcium sulphate of gypsum, the worry of the National Industrial Occupational Safety Hazard (NIOSH). A friend of mine from Lumshnong told me that the MSPCB took pains to study the reason for the River Lukha turning blue in 2017. The team was led by Dr D.P Mukhophadhyay (Retd senior scientist, Central Pollution Control Board ,New Delhi).The blue was said to be elusive. This compelled the experienced scientist to proceed right to the source near Saipung, a village down the Khaddoom Range. It was found that the water was clear until it converged with the River Lunar which carries all the industrial and human wastes of all the cement plants mushrooming around. With such findings it is not fair for the Cement companies to blame the blue colour of the Lukha due to pollution on rat hole coal mining. This is simply untrue.
It has been almost 5 years since the report was published and it is still a mystery as to what is the cause for the Lukha turning blue and all riverine life dying. And for this the MSPCB is answerable! However, the blame should also lie with successive governments and their bureaucrats and technocrats who are all fully aware of the notoriety of cement plants in air and water pollution, apart from being the heaviest guzzlers of electricity plus their captive power plant using coal which violates the COP 26 principles. This is the reason why Bill Gates donated 5 billion $ to COP out of which half is to do away with traditional cement plants by going to green plants even if the green premium is costing 70% more. For the philanthropist, life is worth more than 70 %.
Sadly as long as abbreviations like EPA, FA, MoEFCC, MSPCB do not act as per their nomenclature the Lukha will never recover and other rivers too will die a quick death.
Yours etc.,
M. Khyriem
Via email
Is opposition to NEET fair?
Editor,
Tamil Nadu is the only state to oppose the National Eligibility-cum Entrance Test (NEET). Competitive politics, nexus between authorities of some private medical institutions and politicians have caused the Dravidian parties to oppose NEET. This exam was prescribed by the Supreme Court for admission to medical colleges and to put an end to the ills in medical admissions.
There have been several suicides by aspirants in Tamil Nadu since the exam was introduced there. As a consequence, it has become an emotive issue. The state puts the blame on the Centre for supporting such a ‘’demonic’’ NEET. A narrative has been formed in the state that NEET disadvantages students from rural and poor backgrounds. As a result, the Dravidian parties are competing with each other to dispense with the exam. As scrapping the NEET exam is DMK’s election pledge, the party is putting in all efforts to do away with it.
In September last year, the Tamil Nadu Assembly passed a Bill to enact a law for scrapping NEET. Given that the central government has the power to repeal any Act, the passing of the Bill won’t exempt the students from writing the NEET exam. If a state wants to get exemption from NEET, it needs to be granted permission by the Supreme Court. Considering that the Bill challenges a central legislation, it cannot come into effect without the President’s assent. As the law enacted by Parliament prevails, the law made by the state becomes invalid. It must be remembered that the AIADMK government had passed two such Bills but the President did not give his assent to the Bills.
Yours etc.,
Venu GS.,
Kollam