Editor,
The Meghalaya Games 2022 were launched on the May 2, 2022. The idea behind holding such sporting events is to tap, discover and promote hidden sporting talent of the State. It is an event organized by the Meghalaya Olympic Association to encourage sports persons of Meghalaya to step forward and put their best foot forward in showing their team or individual sporting skills. To support this concept different District Sporting Associations have enthusiastically sent their best performers to Shillong, the State Capital in the hope that it is an event aimed at promoting faculty each district has. Alas it now appears that the State Olympic Association of Meghalaya working in close cahoots with the Director of Sports, Govt of Meghalaya do not share such sentiments for their athletes. They appear to be more interested in organizing such events (because of the huge funds involved in expenditure that can be fudged) than in promoting sporting talent, which they feel should be left to God to manage.
Photos of the conditions of the accommodation at Polo, earmarked to house athletes from outside Shillong has now gone viral on social media. It reveals sleeping quarters on a bare concrete floor covered with dirty water from a leaking roof, bathroom with faucets that don’t work ( apparent from pictures of the conditions of the sinks in such bathrooms and the fact that athletes have to resort to outside taps for their daily ablutions) and dirty overflowing commodes in toilets that appear to have never been cleaned. In one word, the pictures show living conditions that are filthy, soiled and highly unhygienic unfit even of animals to live in. And these are the living conditions, the authorities tasked with promoting sporting talent in Meghalaya, provide to our young budding sportsmen? A local wit quacked “It is literal defecating over the human rights of our athletes!” It is criminal and highly unprofessional. The living conditions described above are aimed more at destroying human dignity, lowering Human Rights and are downright demeaning. In no way can they be imagined to be amenities to promote sports or any human activity.
After all is said and done about the above, one is further dismayed at the weak, feeble couldn’t care less attitude of the Chief Minister, Conrad Sangma , when the scam ( for it is no less than a total rip-off of the 2.2 Crores earmarked for the event and an open case of unscrupulous attempt at corruption) was brought to his notice. His reaction to this swindle is a mild tweet, “Not acceptable at all. Have asked officials to rectify” My Dear CM, it is these very officials, right from the Sports Minister, Commissioner cum Secretary Sports, Sports Director, Chairman and General Secretary of the Meghalaya Sports Olympic Association who are individually and collectively involved in this shameful act of sheer negligence that stinks highly of a connived plot to loot the Govt in the name of providing accommodation for Meghalaya Games athletes 2022. What they claim and the reality on the ground is there for all to see. This is no time to be politically correct. Heads must roll. You are instead asking the thief to catch himself? It will not do. The prestige of the people of Meghalaya together with the officials of all District Sporting Associations is at stake. There is only one way of dealing with corruption and sleaze. Take immediate drastic action! It is what is expected of you. Set up an enquiry into the matter that might even lead to criminal charges against officials and officers involved. In the meanwhile I appeal to all District Sports Associations to immediately recall all the athletes they have sent to Shillong. These are human beings you have sent. You just simply cannot allow them to wallow in conditions unfit even for a pig! Fifthly, I call upon all the public to raise their protest on this shameful scandal. Enough is enough. Time to put a stop to all this looting of public funds that is increasing in frequency in our state.
Yours etc.,
Benjamin Kshiar,
Via email
Bengal’s culture of violence
Editor,
The TMC Government in Bengal has recently completed its first year in office of its new term which however, has captured the headlines mostly for non- palatable issues. TMC is a Bengal centric political party which like other political parties having roots in Bengal believes in the culture of violence as manifested by numerous acts of intimidation, arson, rape and other forms of brutality which are well documented resulting in regular intervention of judiciary, CBI, Women’s Commission, Human Rights Commission and Minority Commissions which are trying to rein in such undemocratic activities. All forms of violence however, is not new to Bengal which is continuing unabated for over fifty years if one takes the Naxal movement in the sixties as the starting point. Over the years people of Bengal have accepted ‘violence’ as their new culture jettisoning the ‘bhadralok culture’ which peaked in the nineteenth century. Intelligentsia and media generally put the blame on the political parties for the culture of violence prevalent in Bengal but ignore the basic fact that the political parties being inanimate institutions are incapable of perpetrating violence. It is the people of the State who as members or supporters of political parties are actually executing the acts of violence against their own fellow people and as such it can be safely inferred that the people of Bengal are solely responsible for the deaths and mayhem that one encounters regularly in the state for over half a century. One has to bear in mind that this ‘culture of violence” of Bengal cannot be stopped with regime change because the believers and perpetrators of violence would vote for a new party but their inner soul will remain rooted to violence as is evident from the fact that although TMC has uprooted the Communist’s three-decade long rule, it failed to deracinate the culture of violence. As such, the onus is entirely on the people of Bengal whether to shun violence or to live happily with it as it appears today.
Yours etc.,
D. Bhattacharjee,
Shillong-1
Inhuman treatment of sportspersons
Editor,
The Meghalaya State Olympic Association (MSOA), being the organisers and the host should take responsibility for the worst arrangements they have made for the sportspersons in this ongoing Meghalaya Games. Is this the way to train for the run up to the North-east games and National Games? And HubNews, shame on you for twisting the whole issue and showing clean toilets to the public when the Chief Minister himself has taken cognizance of the ugly truth. What Godi Media you have made of yourself? What are the other arrangements have you made if all the sportspersons walk out of the games since they are being treated as no less than animals?
Education and Sports were never given priority in our state. Those who have made it have done so through individual struggles. To depend on the Government for these two sectors is like asking for the moon. Only when we strive hard will we reach the goal on our own. The Government is there only to take pride in whatever people have achieved through their individual efforts.
Yours etc.,
L.A. Sangma,
Tura