Editor,
During Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s time, visitors to the BJP office at Ashoka Road, New Delhi would recall the signboard with his face on it and emblazoned below the words “Zero Tolerance to Corruption.” When party President Bangaru Laxman was caught in a sting operation accepting lakhs of rupees in cash, he was out as was the sign board. The 2004 elections confirmed that the Vajpayee government had lost its sheen, losing spectacularly to Congress.
That bit of history bears relevance to the Conrad Sangma NPP-led MDA government. With a scam about illegal transportation of coal rocking the ruling Meghalaya Democratic Alliance (MDA) government, Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma effected a Cabinet reshuffle, stripping his elder brother James Sangma of the Home portfolio. Saubhagya scam- Rs. 149 crores, Power scam- Rs 100 crores plus, Rice scam- Rs. 19 crores, Museum scam – Rs. 3 crores are burning examples of sky-rocketing corruption and mismanagement in the administration. The list is endless.
The present life of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly expires on March 15, 2023. With elections around the corner, the Meghalaya electorate, especially the youth, must show the door to all those parasitic politicians draining the economy of our state’s development fund.
Of course, corrupt people elect corrupt leaders. It is also seen that only when election approaches that the politicians bend over backwards to satisfy the citizens of the state. As a result, the electorate tends to calculate that instead of giving the right vote to the correct politician they should sit and wait to see who gives the best price (money) for their vote.
Yours etc.,
Marsanlang Rymbai,
Via email
Criticism against vulgar entertainment during pujas
Editor,
Criticism for the right cause is a must. The absence of criticism hastens the societal slide from bad to worse. The feedback triggered by my letter “Christmas not for unholy parties” (ST Dec 31, 2022) was encouraging. My sincere thanks go to each of them. I realized how people are disillusioned. What if I had not raised my voice, including the Shillong Times editorial on the same day under the heading — “Of rowdy Christmas celebrations”? This I leave to our discerning readers to judge.
Well, Lord Krishna continuously coaxed Arjuna to fight against those who were supporting or encouraging immorality in society. He even convinced Arjuna that his own Gurus and uncles were equally blameworthy for remaining mute when Draupadi was disrobed by cruel and arrogant Duryodhana. Why did God himself persuade Arjun to train arrows at his own kith and kin? It may sound paradoxical to many. But it was intended to defeat ADHARMA (godlessness) and establish Dharma. It also implied that when EVIL rears its ugly head, conscious people should raise their voices lest they too earn bad karma as sinners.
Thus, celebrating the days associated with Gods and Goddesses with vulgar entertainment and drinks should be disapproved of and criticized. It is like a direct insult to the ALMIGHTY, as also said by Rupesh Nath in his letter. Can we “offend” our parents with our sinful acts, cold attitude, and verbal abuse? Please give it serious thought, and flip through the pages of Vedas and Puranas. Over the years, we have joyfully incorporated all vulgarity that has not only polluted society but also pushed it to the brink of degeneration. Violent quarrels and drunken brawls that mark the auspicious day have only invoked curses from heaven. What really pains us is that people from other faiths just laugh at us. Oh God, how long will you let your spiritual sermons be drowned out by the boom-boom of Bollywood and rowdy roars? On earth, actors and actresses are becoming more popular than you are.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong
How safe are certain areas of Shillong?
Editor,
I was watching the news when a discussion on what is happening in the town of Joshimath, Chamoli district, Uttarakhand was aired on the news channel, Mirror Now. It appears that Joshimath has now been declared as a land subsidence zone according to the District Magistrate. Land subsidence is the term used for the downward displacement of the earth’s surface. This causes cracks to appear on the ground and on buildings on such ground. In layman’s language Joshimath is sinking and becoming uninhabitable because of the inability of the land, on hill slopes, to support the artificial load placed upon it either by heavy concrete buildings or by continuous disturbance on the land caused by blasting etc. A general panic is taking place in the area with the Government and administration bent on immediate dismantling buildings and structures that are considered unsafe and with its occupants protesting that in such an event they had nowhere else to go. With climate change in the wind and other stories of man-made disasters becoming daily news items the world over, the only word one can come up with is –man appears to be hell bent on destroying himself whenever he can!
When one looks at the Shillong landscape, the possibility of such a similar happening or perhaps even worse can easily be imagined. I shudder when I gaze up at the rapid urbanization on the Lumparing and Malki slopes. Tall, heavy concrete buildings are becoming the order of the day in these areas. Question is has any soil testing been done; any geological analysis carried out whether the soil on these slopes can carry the heavy structures that are so haphazardly being planted there? I doubt if such scientific measures have been taken up. What I suspect is that a mere NOC from the Rangbah Shnong or some other ragtag unscrupulous permission from the KHADC are all that was needed for such three, four storied concrete structures to come up on these steep slopes. We have MUDA and we have the Municipality, Government institutions with the manpower and wherewithal to conduct such safety studies before permission is given to build on these inclined slopes. These Government institutions are armed with rules and regulations ensuring safety of buildings to be erected. Blind petty politics being played in Meghalaya is preventing this from happening and is putting people‘s lives in grave danger. During heavy rainfall during in the monsoons my greatest fear is of seeing the whole of Lumparing sliding down the khud into the Umshyrpi. My only hope and prayer is that my fears do not come true.
Yours etc.,
Toki Blah,
Via email