Editor,
With time we witness more and more traffic on the road leading to NEIGRIHMS. The worst traffic congestion takes place at the main gate of NEIGRIHMS where everyday one witnesses layers of traffic. Each time I pass that way, I am caught up in a jam, partly due to the heavy traffic and partly also due to the flouting of traffic rules by taxis and the red vehicles drivers. With the coming of the state legislative assembly and many government offices to this area, the traffic situation will definitely worsen. As a short term solution, I would earnestly request the traffic police department to station traffic police personnel at NEIGRIHMS so as to regulate the traffic and reduce congestion. However, as a long term solution I would suggest that a fly-over be constructed so that those who pass by NEIGRIHMS may do so through the fly-over while those who intend to go to NEIGRIHMS could take the road below.
I hope the government which is so intent on completing the assembly building would take serious cognizance of this existential problem as well. Now is the right time to think of constructing a fly-over as there are still not many houses by the roadside as yet. I am sure many citizens, especially those who live in the suburbs of the city beyond NEIGRIHMS, would support my suggestion. But let us wait and see if the Government would heed such pleas from well-meaning citizens. Actually, it was a great lack of foresight on the part of the government not to have constructed a four-lane road in this area knowing that the extension of the city is towards this region. The two-lane road which has been recently made, is well done and worthy of appreciation. It has immensely eased the commuters on this stretch of road. Yet how long will this comfort last, as the traffic is growing at an unbelievable pace? In my reckoning, five years from now, the traffic snarls on this road would be as bad as Police Bazaar if not worse. This speaks volumes of the lack of vision and planning on the part of the government. It is not late yet, if the government takes action right now.
Yours etc.,
Barnes Mawrie sdb,
Via email
Disabling YouTube comments
Editor,
Through your daily esteemed daily I would like to make a request to ALL LOCAL CHANNELS that air their news coverage and footage on YouTube to ‘turn off’ the comments section in order to do away with hatred, racist remarks and even vulgar comments. Because of those comments kids and young people learn to adapt to negativity very quickly. We learn that these negative comments are mostly from the highly illiterate people and school drop outs who more often than not bring shame rather than pride to our society as a whole. For a response, for a fight, for an argument, people just like to spew hate on other people because it’s easy to do it on an online platform. Those people just use online commenting platforms to bring other people down; a particular society down instead of not even paying attention to them. You have all kinds of sick people such as obsessive fanboys/haters, racists, sexists, political and religious extremists, obsessive nationalists/jingoists, and just all kinds of generally obnoxious, abhorrent, and idiotic people. The world is watching and judging us through these YouTube comments and I must say that the best thing we can do is to at least curb this menace by disabling the comments section in tough times like these that the State is passing through.
Yours etc.,
A concerned citizen.
(Name withheld on request)
Continued plight of pedestrians
Editor,
Much has been written about traffic jams in and around Shillong City and yet there seems to be no solution to this issue. The Hight Court not so long ago passed an order that all vendors and hawkers are to be removed from public spaces especially pavements within ten days and the District Administration was supposed to implement this in collaboration with heads of localities.
Sadly, on the ground things have not changed at all especially in Laitumkhrah, a locality with many schools within its boundaries. So, can someone please explain what is the difference between a car that is parked on the road side and a vendor/ hawker squatting in that same space all day? Accidents have happened where people have lost their lives or have suffered serious injuries.
If there is to be less cars on the road then why not encourage walking by making life easier for pedestrians? People who walk have no space to do so. I would request the so called VIP’S to walk on our pavements holding an umbrella in one hand and a shopping bag in the other to know exactly what a pedestrian has to go through or sit in a wheelchair for that matter.
For it is only when the shoe is on the other foot they might perhaps understand.
Yours etc.,
Christine Nonghuloo,
Via email
Of ulterior motives
Editor,
Apropos of the letter by Dr Omarlin Kyndiah, “Why NEHU conducted interview in Guwahati” ( ST November 2, 2022), I to express my deep concern on the matter. That a University which is fully developed in terms of infrastructure has to locate a venue away from the State to conduct interviews for its faculty and other official posts is nothing but a joke. The present Vice Chancellor must clarify publicly as to what is the justification of holding interviews for vacancies in Guwahati. It’s appears that under the present VC NEHU in future is going to be administered from BJP and RSS offices. The people of the State of Meghalaya demand that the interview conducted in Guwahati on October 19 be scrapped and fresh interviews be conducted in the NEHU permanent campus.
Yours etc.,
Marbianglang K Rymbai,
Via email
Peculiar change in MPSC exam
Editor
Apropos of the letter “Why the change in MPSC syllabus” (ST Nov 2, 2022), it is interesting, and also a healthy indicator, to see the enthusiasm and the public participation in trying to enforce transparent governance in every department of the Government of Meghalaya as can be substantiated from various developments such as RTI, protests, etc. As said by the famous Greek philosopher Plato, “if you don’t take interest in the affairs of the government you are doomed to live under the rule of fools.”
But let me provide a perspective through a fiction in relevance to the aforementioned letter: There are 10 rooms with each consisting of 100 people. In each only 5 people will be able to get outside of a room that they are confined in, provided they solve puzzles to find the key patterns. Each room has the same key pattern. Now, in the first few rooms, a group of six or seven serious persons amongst the 100 in each room were finding that it wasn’t a walk in the park to find the key patterns but after gruelling attempts they were able to successfully crack the code. In the next few rooms, groups of serious persons also did struggle but with lesser labour than the previous ones as they have learned that the key follows a certain pattern. The last 2 or 3 rooms, after they worked hard and smart, more than twenty people were able to crack the code in lesser time and investing lesser energy, making it difficult for the organizers to decide who the five people from among the 100 should be let out.
Now let us turn back to the MPSC general exams; according to my personal understanding and assumption, MPSC has learned that the pattern they are implementing in conducting the exams has become redundant as most people and the coaching institutes have “cracked the code” of MPSC exams. And in the name of guidance most of these coaching institutes are leeching money off desperate people. However, this letter is not about this contentious point. My point, in this letter, is that MPSC is trying to improvise the manner of conducting exams so as to raise the level of competition but it didn’t come without obscurity. Suggestions are that there should be a committee of experts from diverse fields to examine the requirements of each job role so as to streamline the process and ensure efficiency both in recruitment to certain posts, so that suitable people are recruited, as well as in performing the duties when recruited to certain posts. But also this has to be done with maximum transparency. Invoking RTI clauses to hide the process and its elements cannot be an excuse for the MPSC body to indulge in any nefarious activities while recruiting people to the public services.
(Views are personal).
Yours etc.,
Kevin M Shangpliang,
Via email