Editor,
I am using this space of your esteemed daily to draw the attention of the District Administration to certain concerns as earlier attempts at doing so have failed. As usual, on February 4, 2023 there was a big bang of Rock Music concert at Mawlai Nongpdeng where heavy metal groups enthralled the audience of the locality until the night flipped into the next day of the calendar. People, especially youths from all walks of life thronged into the venue to watch the entertainment live. The sorry state of affairs from the inept district administration was that people danced and screamed to the tune and tenor of music euphoria with full decibel that can be heard from long distances.
About this huge fanfare and excitement, I would like to pose some questions. Did the organizers seek necessary permission from the District Administration before holding such extravaganza?. If yes, did the Administration allow them to prolong the event till the late hours past midnight? As far as our knowledge goes the District Administration usually grants No Objection Certificates to such organizers with the condition that they should conclude their event before 10:00 PM only. The liberty of holding such events till midnight with full musical and DJ blasts has become a nightmare to neighbouring localities, not to mention the faint- hearted ones. They break the precious serenity of the night as if they are the only people who live on the planet. Now with the ongoing elections to the state Assembly, we could even hear the loud speakers at the dead of night. Will the District Administration wake up from its slumber and contain the noise pollutants?
Yours etc.,
HT Wells
Shillong-2
Amnesia of the voter in Meghalaya
Editor,
Elections are an essential component of democracies as they allow citizens to express their thoughts and have their voices heard. However, it appears that during election season, the people of Meghalaya frequently ignore the pressing issues that impact their daily lives.
This can be attributed, in part, to the influence of political propaganda, the promise to save the “Jaitbynriew,” and misleading promises made by candidates during election campaigns. The public is easily persuaded by the rhetoric of politicians, who frequently make lofty commitments they know they cannot keep. As a result, the people become distracted by the politicians’ phony promises and forget their underlying concerns.
Furthermore, during political campaigns, the power of money and other resources significantly impacts how easily people ignore the essential concerns at hand. Politicians frequently use cash and other resources to sway public opinion and divert attention from crucial issues. As a result, people become distracted by politicians’ empty promises and stop paying attention to the actual problems that impact their everyday lives.
Last but not least, it is a sad fact that Meghalayans frequently overlook pressing issues during elections. This is brought on by political propaganda, a general lack of knowledge and education, and the impact of funds and other resources during election campaigns. The general public has to become more knowledgeable about genuine issues that are relevant to their daily lives and take part in the electoral process with an awareness of these issues and be questioning and also take a critical look at issues.
Yours etc.,
Kenneth Nongsiej,
Via email
Voices that have never been heard
Editor,
There are some groups of people who are never part of the society. They have a family and they are known as Tourist Taxi Drivers. As drivers we survive by transporting passengers from one place to another and even making the lives of other people happier and memorable by taking them to places which they want to visit such as tourist destinations, work places, training centres, events and many more. Yes, as drivers we are chasing after passengers up and down the streets of Police Bazar which is located just opposite the old assembly building. Yet we don’t feel embarrassed since the Constitution of India ensures dignity of labour which is enshrined in Chapter IV which states, “The State shall, in particular, direct its policy towards securing –
(a) that the citizens, men and women equally, have the right to an adequate means of livelihood.” The Constitution of India guarantees equal opportunities but as drivers we are being treated as second class citizens especially by the Sadar Traffic Police who don’t allow us to take passengers in places which are rightfully ours. They threaten us, clamp our vehicles and even hit our cars like they own them. This is unacceptable. In our own state we are not recognised by the State Government, yet we are one of the sectors that has contributed immensely towards the development of our state. Let us consider an important duty we perform which is to transport the concerned officials for the 2023 elections. These officials who will operate in different polling stations within the State require us but our efforts and problems are not considered. Some of them are highlighted below:
1. Road tax
2. Passenger tax
3. Permit
4. Insurance
5. Toll gate fare
6. POL tax
These are just some of the major contributions we have made towards the development of the State. We don’t want the present Government to recognise us but we just want them to allocate a plot of land which is rightfully ours that has been barricades ever since the Covid lockdown in 2019. If the incumbent government along with the existing Transport Minister cannot resolve this small and minor issue, it will end up by earning these three I’s – Ignorance, Irresponsibility and incompetence.
Yours etc.,
Willibertstar Diengdoh,
Via email