Editor,
As one visionary says, “Population grows but the land does not.” This also applies to vehicles and roads in towns and cities all over India particularly hill stations like Shillong. The number of new vehicles plying on the same roads which had not been widened for ages and are not likely to be so for obvious reasons. In the past hundreds of vehicle driver coming towards Meghalaya Secretariat breathed a sigh of relief when they found a place for parking on the roadside stretching from the YWCA up to Talents Club. But in the recent past some unpleasant incidents must have happened there, after which, it was turned into a ‘no parking zone’ except on Saturdays and Sundays near Garo Baptist Church.
Parking problem is a global problem and can be eased to some extent when public-police understanding is there. In such a case, if the authorities concerned review certain decisions and allow parking of small vehicles on one side of the road mentioned above it would surely ease the parking problems of the people to some extent who are visiting numerous offices located at Lachumiere including the Meghalaya Secretariat.
Hope somebody listens!
Yours etc
Thrumen Sangma,
Via email
On Anita Pfaff
Editor,
Ms Anita Pfaff appealing to the Modi Govt for DNA testing the ashes kept at the Renkoji Temple in Japan and which is believed to be that of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose her father. She is even ready for her DNA test to ascertain her identity! Anita Pfaff knows very well that the secret files lying with Britain, Russia, Germany, Japan etc will never be declassified and the files contain secret information on Netaji after the so-called plane crash on August 18, 1945.
Experts have specifically mentioned that DNA tests may not be possible on the ashes after so many years and if even done the accuracy of report would be doubtful. Now for the sake of argument, say, if the DNA tests match, then what? Will it really end the controversies and beliefs of crores of people across the world who still know that Netaji did not die in plane crash?
As a Netaji researcher, I do believe that Ms Anita Pfaff, an Austrian national has to do much more to prove her relationship with Netaji. Mere DNA testing is not enough.
Yours etc.,
Anjan Kr Das,
Shillong -6
Rain water harvesting
Editor,
Meghalaya is a state that has been abundantly blessed with heavy rainfall every year, yet every year there are reports of people facing shortage of water in their towns, villages and households. It is high time for the government and the people to wake up and realize that depending only on tap water will not be enough. Rain water harvesting and conservation is something that should be encouraged amongst the public. The government must take the initiative to start projects on rain water conservation and educate the public on the need and importance of rain water. As a growing and developing society, we must know and understand that in a few decades or may be just a few years, we may not have proper access to safe and clean water and therefore it is a must for us to learn how to sustain our water resources and one of the main steps towards a sustainable environment is by starting to use the natural water that has been bestowed upon us.
Yours etc.,
Reakor Shisha Kharkrang,
Laimtnysaw Village,
Upper Shillong
I-Day celebration or Govt publicity?
Editor,
The MDA Government like its benefactor the NDA Government at the Centre has turned everything into a publicity stunt. The other day the Deputy Chief Minister gave out cheques to people who won in different sporting events observed as part of Meghalaya’s 50th year, at the Soso Tham auditorium. There are prizes won for this and that event and money is distributed right left and centre. There’s money distributed to farmers at Rs 5000 each under a scheme called FOCUS. How far can Rs 5000 take a farmer in this day and age? The minister’s and MLA’s children spend Rs 5000 a day just on fast food, drinks, fuel and entertainment. For them Rs 5000 is peanuts but the farmers are supposed to save their crops and do their agriculture with the same amount. But our people have become so poor and dependent on largesse that politicians can easily win them with money; any amount of money in fact.
All kinds of schemes are conceived in the Secretariat without really knowing what the people really need because there’s a huge distance between the people in the last village of Meghalaya and the State Secretariat. That distance is growing by the day instead of the gap closing now that Meghalaya is 50 years old. But let’s get serious. Who’s really thinking about the State? The MLAs are not even aware of the areas of concern in their constituencies since they have become occasional visitors there. All the MLAs and MDCs are Shillong-based. They don’t need to negotiate over the rough and uneven roads that their constituents have to pass through daily. If they do visit their constituency it is to inaugurate something or the other. And that is all about photo-ops, not an ordinary visit to just meet and listen to people voicing their concerns. Would it not be better for ministers to listen than to speak all the time? The Sports and Agriculture Minister’s statement which has gone viral has shown him yet again in a very poor light. He believes this year is India’s 150th year of Independence. Should ministers not have some basic education and general knowledge? It looks like Meghalaya does not have capable and competent individuals to become lawmakers so voters are forced to elect those whose intelligence is below par. Naturally they need to be spoon-fed by bureaucrats and don’t have a mind of their own.
There is nothing to celebrate in today’s Meghalaya. The surveys by different agencies tell us what the politicians don’t want us to know. Conrad Sangma should stop advertising what his Government is doing because it has not done much.
Yours etc.,
SN Nongkynrih,
Via email