Love letters…
At a time when love has become an obsolete expression with the advent of emoticons/emojis, could this sublime instinct still be described with words and words only?
For humans, words have always been our primitive go-to form of expression, in times of pleasures and pain, we always wrote, read and spoke.
But, in the current contemporary world, this practice seems to be at risk of oblivion.
This is where this competition comes into the picture.
The SJ team this week came across an out-of-the-box initiative — a love letter writing contest, which arguably has many takers — conceived by the students’ union of the North-Eastern Hills University (NEHU) under the umbrella of NEHU Students’ Union or NEHUSU.
In a world that seeks brevity and precision in thoughts, this particular competition makes you think out loud and not confine yourself to literally anything.
The theme for the contest is ‘Long distance relationship’. This topic looks like the kind that could get some pens moving!
The competition will be conducted on June 15, as per an official communication issued by the NEHUSU.
Many even posted a picture of the official notification on WhatsApp — some ridiculing the love letter writing competition while others were simply caught in surprise.
One even wrote: “Seriously NEHUSU? (With a cry-laugh emoji).”
The ‘extra’
It has barely been months since the bike taxi services were introduced in Shillong. The launch of the services was very much welcomed by Shillongites — booking rides were now at one’s fingertips, the city traffic blues could not delay one’s ETA, and the charges in proportion to the services provided were very much reasonable.
Well, the elation was short-lived for Shillongites.
Now, the SJ team here is not presenting a critical rhetoric but making its readers mindful of an ill that has started plaguing the bike taxi services, similar to what is seen in other towns and cities.
Now before we proceed further, props up to the concerted efforts of the captains for keeping the bike taxi services going.
This acknowledgment of the efforts and services of the captains is sometimes expressed in the form of tip, as a gesture of goodwill, similar to the practices in eateries.
However, things have now changed for worse.
Now, if you book a ride, one stipulation is most of the time, if not every time, provided beforehand to the passenger by the captain — “I can only come for a pick-up if you pay a little bit extra than the amount shown on your mobile app.”
Failure to fall in with the demand results only in the cancellation of the ride.
“The situation of bike taxi services here has gotten similar to that in Guwahati. I wonder how do the captains come up with such ideas?,” a commuter was quoted by the SJ team as saying.
Now, this ill practice is not something new in bike taxi services, it is prevalent in many cities, including in Guwahati.
It is because of the sorry state of bike taxi services various state governments have initiated measures to regulate the unprofessional conduct of captains.
The neighbouring state of Assam is the latest one to have initiated a crackdown on the online transportation services after receiving complaints from the general public.
Now, the ball is in Meghalaya Government’s court.
More repairs!
Monsoon has played spoilsport for several days in recent memory. But apart from that, the downpour seems to have had a disastrous effect on roads in the city, which have begun developing potholes.
These potholes are spread across major roads passing through the city.
But there’s a catch: The government has somehow been quick to repair the potholes.
The problem, however, is in regard with smaller roads to which the authorities have till date not paid attention.
Residents have complained about potholes along the steep road from Dhankheti till Lachumiere junction. In addition to those, the road which connects GS Road with Rhino point is now filled with potholes, they say.
But, according to many, this is just the tip of the iceberg.