By Patricia Mukhim
“The other day the CM made a surprise landing at Union Christian College and from there had to be picked up by his entourage. Alas those riding on SUVs do not really see the miserable road condition that daily commuters on those roads have to suffer. They include farmers from beyond Mawlyndep; teachers of UCC who have to commute daily on that most bumpy and dusty road and other ordinary mortals. Tourists that wish to visit some of the swanky resorts in the area around the Umiam Lake question why the resort owners don’t make common cause on the disgraceful state of the roads.”
Roads in a wretched
condition
Chief Minister Conrad Sangma is a man in a hurry. Naturally he has to use the chopper to reach from one inaugural programme to the next. In the bargain he misses out on the big picture – the most horrendous condition of our roads including those close to and within the State Capital. The other day the CM made a surprise landing at Union Christian College and from there had to be picked up by his entourage. Alas those riding on SUVs do not really see the miserable road condition that daily commuters on those roads have to suffer. They include farmers from beyond Mawlyndep; teachers of UCC who have to commute daily on that most bumpy and dusty road and other ordinary mortals. Tourists that wish to visit some of the swanky resorts in the area around the Umiam Lake question why the resort owners don’t make common cause on the disgraceful state of the roads. Last heard was that the tendering process for this road that cuts through to Eastern West Khasi Hills was completed a long time ago but the construction work is not in sight. Let’s face some facts. Roads have never been as decrepit as they are under the MDA regime. These days no one wants to visit Shnongpdeng or Dawki or even Sohra unless they are hardcore off-road vehicle drivers. For the uninitiated an off-road trip is an adventure ride on a vehicle meant to be driven off the paved or gravel surface over huge craters and for the driver to still enjoy the ride. For ordinary commuters these journeys are back-breaking. Think of pregnant women being compelled to ride on such roads! Yet we all watch in utter helplessness as if it’s our destiny to ride on these bad roads fifty years after Meghalaya was created. A silent public deserves these roads, I guess!
Agriculture, Horticulture and Veterinary:
In the last six months we have seen too many programmes that are aimed at simply doling out cash in the name of supporting farmers. What we are not told is (a) what are the farmers going to spend the one time payment of Rs 5000 on? (b) How did the Government/Agriculture Department work out that Rs 5000 is enough for farmers to upscale their production? Has any farmer spoken publicly as to how he/she is going to use the money? We have seen several piglets that have been distributed but have died. Some of these piglets were thrown away in the forests on the way to NEIGRIHMS. Only after the Shnong was informed did they take action and bury those piglets. It’s fine to distribute piglets and chicken but what are the survival rates? Does anyone ever do a follow up in Meghalaya? The mortality rate of piglets brought in from outside the state is very high. The Veterinary Department does not have the facilities to acclimatize the piglets before distributing them to farmers. Yet public money has been invested in these piglets. Who is keeping track of the dead piglets across the state and how much money has gone down the drain? And no, asking these pertinent questions is not politicizing the issue.
Sports in Meghalaya:
Let’s now come to Sports in Meghalaya. The successful completion of the 2nd North East Olympic Games and naturally CM Conrad Sangma was seen posing with the athletes with a wide grin on his face. Sports officials, the Meghalaya Olympics Association and various other verticals in the Sports Department and also the DC’s office worked relentlessly to ensure that the games passed off well. However, Meghalaya cannot rest on its laurels as far as Sports is concerned. The State needs better infrastructure that is equal to or better than that of Manipur. The young have been sufficiently enthused to take up various games and they have excelled in quite a few and this without much coaching but through sheer grit and determination. The question that needs to be out to those that wish to contest the 2023 elections are (a) How much do they care about sports as an activity that will make the young expend their energy positively? (b) The State should conduct research on why the youth take to drugs instead of blowing its trumpet each time there is a drugs haul. This answer is critical to channelizing youth energy (c) Is Meghalaya a transit state for drugs or a consumer state? (d) Are there enough recreation centres for the youth of the State? These questions are critical to developing a more pragmatic youth policy, rather than a policy that is theoretical in nature.
This writer has spoken to several young people and tried to understand their anxieties. A common complaint is the absence of good swimming pools that are accessible to any young person with an interest in the game. Other than the Crinoline Swimming Pool, which other public swimming pool is there in the entire state of Meghalaya? Now that rivers have become shallow drains, swimming in such rivers is no longer tenable. There are those who wish to play badminton but find no avenue now after the NSCA stadium is being razed to the ground to accommodate some government infrastructure. The correct thing to do would have been to first construct a state-of the art indoor stadium before demolishing the old one. Consider Table Tennis for instance. Where can those interested in the game play? Only elite spaces like clubs and hotels have these facilities. How can an ordinary youth with a love of the game play it? Only a few schools and colleges have a football ground or a basket-ball court. They don’t invest in other sporting infrastructure. We hardly hear of schools and colleges trying to expand the breadth of sporting activities other than the predictable ones.
And now as we head for the elections we would also like to ask the Government where it will stock the EVMs and where the counting of votes will be held in Shillong and other district headquarters. The last thing we want to hear is that the JN Stadium will be used for election purposes. This should not be allowed at any cost because it would reduce a sporting arena to a free for all government infrastructure. A stadium is for sports activities and not for accommodating every programme that is unrelated to sports. Please spare all the sporting arenas from use during elections as this sends out a very distressing signal for sports enthusiasts who need to practice daily and cannot have a break whenever the Government decides to arbitrarily turn a stadium into a vote-counting arena. Voting is not a sport and the sooner the Meghalaya Government realizes this the better.
Those holding office in different sporting associations must put pressure on the Government not to misuse sporting venues and stadia for anything else other than sports. For this to happen these associations need to maintain their autonomy and speak up on behalf of the voiceless sports persons instead of seeing themselves as part of the Government.
Meghalaya has to sow the seeds of sporting ambition in the youth and provide them that much-needed coaching. Above all, Meghalaya must seek central assistance to beef up its sports infrastructure. Officers of the Sports Department say that the scheme ‘Khelo India’ has helped to take the message of sports as an integral part of education to every corner of Meghalaya. This is encouraging provided it is implemented in letter and spirit.
For too long sports has been a neglected issue in Meghalaya. This time it has to feature in the election manifesto of all political parties. Any political party that does not give due importance to sports does not deserve the votes of the youth population.
Conclusion:
Finally, what Meghalaya urgently needs before the 2023 elections is a Town Hall type of discussion where ministers will be asked to interact with and answer questions from the public. That’s how we can judge their performance in the last five years. Next we can call the political parties and their candidates and ask them what they have to say about Sports, Agriculture and Veterinary, Roads and other means of communication, Health and Nutrition and Education. We need to hear what vision the candidates have for the people of Meghalaya for the next 20 years.
For this to happen media houses should come together and organize these Town Hall (public platform) meetings. This would be an important public service.