By H H Mohrmen
Midas was a king in ancient Greek mythology. The story has it that the king was offered a special gift by the god Dionysus. Midas wished for power so that anything that he touched would turn to gold. And so it happened! If Midas touched a stone or a flower, it became gold. But the tragedy is when Midas tried to eat food or drink water that turned to gold too. Midas did not only starve to death but he inadvertently turned his daughter to gold too. So he pleaded with Dionysus that he be released from the charm. Dionysus was amused but he did tell Midas to go to the source of the river Pactolus, near Mount Tmolus, and wash himself there. Midas did and was cured.
Midas’s story has however no similarity with the story of Conrad K. Sangma the Chief Minister of Meghalaya. The stories of the two men are diametrically opposite to each other. The only uncanny resemblance that the stories of the two men have ware that the underlining theme in both stories is greed. While Midas was blessed with the power to turn everything he touches to gold; everything that Conrad Sangma touches turns into garbage.
The Assembly Dome
Perhaps the incident which has indicated that Conrad K. Sangma is the opposite of king Midas was when the dome of the assembly building collapsed. The reason for the dome collapse is not clear to the people of Meghalaya till date. Similarly, the substandard construction of the interstate bus terminal has become the classic case of whatever Conrad does is the opposite of the Midas touch.
Education goes south
The state has failed miserably in every yardstick that is used to gauge the progress and development in the sector. The condition of many of the government school buildings in the entire state and LP schools in particular is just a wee bit better than cowsheds. With every section of the teaching fraternity having to hit the streets now and again, it is obvious the government has neglected the most important sector. If the teachers have to spend most of their time on the streets to demand what is rightfully theirs, then it only shows the kind of respect the government gives to this section of society. This also makes us question how much have the students learned during the last few years of the MDA rule. For almost two years students’ learning was affected by the lockdown due to COVID-19 and now because of the government’s failure the students are suffering yet again because their teachers have to protest for their rights.
Health of the
Health Sector
The development in the health sector is interesting to watch because while the state government is in the process of privatizing the PHCs and the health Sub Centers in the state, the process of fooling the public continues. Now and then we see the different ministers and MLAs of the ruling dispensation laying the foundation stone for the upgradation of the different PHCs in their constituencies to CHCs. This is not to mention that no improvement has happened as such even to those PHCs and CHCs that the government has upgraded earlier. The Ummulong PHC which was upgraded as a CHC has not seen any improvement either in the infrastructure or manpower. Similarly, the Khliehriat CHC which the government has upgraded to Civil Hospital has not seen any change at all.
Roads have literarily fallen apart
The less we speak about roads the better because everything that the current government touches falls apart. The condition of the Jowai-Shillong road which was repaired by the PWD almost every three months is in deplorable condition. The Jowai bypass which was constructed by a company owned by a member of the NPP is in a terrible condition. Not only was the road badly designed but the engineers who designed the road had no aesthetic sense. Unlike the Shillong bypass, the road is not pleasant to drive on and the junctions which are entry points to the bypass are badly designed. Many accidents have occurred at both the Thadlaskeñ and Mihmyntdu junctions.
One cannot help but compare the two bypasses, the Shillong and the Jowai bypass on the national highway which connects Guwahati with Silchar and Agartala. The two roads also carry the same amount of traffic. The Shillong bypass which has been in operation for more than five years now has not seen any major repairs done on the road since it became operational, but the Jowai bypass which is now in a pitiable condition is only a few years old and has been frequently repaired.
Immature decision
of a man in a hurry
Not only that everything the MDA government touches turns futile but it has also shown how immature it is in its decision. That the government had to revoke the bill on gambling which was passed in the earlier sitting of the house is a case in point. This government in its attempt to prove that it has done something during its tenure has hurriedly agreed with Assam to solve the interstate border issue. And the Chief Minister in the inauguration spree decided to open the incomplete hotel and now many of the projects which were initiated by the previous government are waiting for the Chief Minister’s Midas touch. Conrad Sangma is a man in hurry and unfortunately time is running out on him.
Law and order situation
Law and order situation in the state in the last few years has been in shambles. The unnecessary murder of the retired HNLC leader and its aftermath is another case in point when the MDA government has failed the people of the state. The tear-gassing of agitating teachers, obviously without the knowledge of the Home Minister proves beyond doubt that law and order in the state is not in his hands. During many interviews with the media, the Home Minister was caught unawares. It is clear that he is clueless and that he is not in charge of things as he is not aware of what has happened.
The major failure of law and order during the MDA government was the Them Metor (Harijan Colony) incident which not surprisingly has slipped public memory. Now the term of the MDA government is almost over but the question that begs the answer is what is the outcome of the unfortunate incident? Now that the Government has not been able to come up with a solution to the problem isn’t it true that the issue continues to hang fire and could spark another communal flare-up in the state anytime?
But the incident which proves that the law and order machinery has failed the state and its people was the recent protest march organized by the FKJGP. Of course, the district administration in good faith granted permission to the organization to have the rally but the truth as seen from media reports is that there were not enough security personnel accompanying the protestors as they marched.
Shape of things to come
The violent incident during the FKJGP organized procession needs to be condemned in the strongest term and the culprits who had attacked the passers-by should be punished. But again the blame lies squarely on the shoulders of the MDA government. If Conrad K. Sangma and his ilk still pretend that unemployment is not a major issue in the state then one can only say that the incident is just the tip of the iceberg and that the worst is yet to come. The incident should also be an eye-opener for the government that all its efforts to promote MSMEs through its PRIME mission have not had any impact on the ground. The approach of creating employment by providing funds for MSMEs startups is alleged to be addressing the elitist section of society only.
What Conrad Sangma should realize is that generally there is at least one unemployed youth in almost every household in the state and the government should come up with a scheme that will reach the grass roots. The MDA government’s failure to address the issue is like putting a landmine on the path of the forthcoming government. The unemployment issue is a ticking time bomb if the government does not address the issue as soon as possible.
The MDA chief Conrad K. Sangma has an uncanny resemblance with Midas, but the difference is Midas’ touch turns to gold, while Conrad’s touch is a Sadim’s touch – the opposite of the Midas touch which turns everything awry.