Editor,
The comment made recently by the UDP candidate, PT Sawkmie that it’s time for a Khasi CM clearly demonstrates that his reptilian brain is well developed but definitely not his neo-cortex. With such a ‘brain’ that’s clearly not fully developed, I am astonished how the UDP even felt that he would be the ideal candidate. It’s shocking that after 51 years of statehood we haven’t yet grown into Meghalayans. Clearly when we have people like him, I am not surprised that Meghalaya is languishing at the bottom of the developmental table.
I appeal to the electorate to choose wisely and disregard the mental garbage that comes dressed up as messiahs. Such people are Lilliputians and best should be shown the door. Meghalaya needs servant leadership ever more
Yours etc.,
Tyrone D’Brass,
Tura
Using statistics to predict election results
Editor,
In response to the letter to the editor of Philip Marwein, senior journalist under the heading, “What’s 5-star Meghalaya,”(ST February 15, 2023) I would like to ask Mr Marwein if there’s there anything wrong in being a staunch supporter of the National People’s Party. For his information I never make wild guesses but professionally do my job as a statistician and work out my math and draw my conclusion from the data of the ECI in respect of Meghalaya which is in the public domain. All you need to do is to visit the ECI website, cull the proper data and analyze it and then draw your own conclusion. That has been my profession as a statistician in the Government of India for the last forty-three years.
There are four data sets that I studied and analyzed and then used to draw my conclusion that the NPP will get 33 seats on March 4, 2023, the date before which the election shall be completed. However, I will not share all the sets since it is my trade secret but provide you only one and that is the strike rate of the parties in 2018. The following is the strike rate of the parties in the election to the 10th Meghalaya Legislative Assembly – NPP 37, INC 35, UDP 17, PDF 15, HSPDP 15, KHNAM 12, Independent 5 and BJP 5. Now you can draw your conclusion from this set of data as to what will be the result on March 2, 2023 the vote counting day. I still stick to 33 for the NPP, the party from amongst 8 National Parties, more than 50 States parties officially recognized and 2796 unofficial parties as of January 2022.
Yours etc.,
V K Lyngdoh,
Via email
NPP targeting the wrong person
Editor,
The NPP is too scared to debate on public platforms thus far and with only two weeks to go before the polling date. But the NPP has made statements upon statements that contradict one another. The Shillong Times report (ST 13-2-2023) with the caption, “Mukul’s inaction to NGT ban on coal, ” saw the NPP candidate Wailadmiki Shylla blaming Dr Mukul Sangma for his inaction on the NGT directive, that had led to the Tribunal banning coal mining.
Politics and current history are inseparable. As a matter of fact, Mr Shylla should be grateful to Dr Mukul Sangma for the following reasons:- 1) The far-sighted CM declared in 2019 that 32 lakh tons of coal was already mined in the 3 districts since 2014.The maintenance of records 5 year old is appreciable indeed. And it is a matter of conjecture how that 32 lakh ton is being transported for nearly ten years with no sign of depletion till date. Of course, in the meantime mining tragedies take place, the latest one being at Shallang in West Khasi Hills.
Heavily laden coal trucks commonly called the “high level” trucks because they belong to the wealthy and pay Rs 90,000 per truck to be able to pass through police cordon. The bridge had snapped on two occasions and some of these trucks have overturned at 3rd mile Upper Shillong and spilled coal. It can be said without a doubt that coal in Meghalaya in the last 5 years dies by the milligram and grows by the metric tonne. One deep regret is Mother Earth is denied its share at Mookyndur and two sites in West Khasi and Garo Hills Districts. One hospital and one medical college could have been built with the revenue generated from coal. Alas! Illegal mining and transportation of coal means that money goes into the pockets of policemen and politicians.
Let us analyse surgically what would have happened had Dr Mukul Sangma listened to the NGT. 1)Meghalaya is zone V according to seismic survey. The rat holes that resonate to seismic disturbances were too few in numbers in 2014, would not devastate the mined hillocks should the big one strike. With the latest earthquake that hit Turkey and Iran we don’t really know where we stand. 2)The Coal Ministry reading the headlines on illegal coal transportation daily still had to defend that there is no mining and transportation of coal right now in Meghalaya. Finally Chief Minister Conrad Sangma was summoned to Delhi and told that scientific mining of coal is allowed. Two coal barons jumped to the offer but abandoned it after they found that the cost of scientific mining far exceeds the profit to be made with having to pay engineers and accommodating their families. Add to that the cost of machines, operators and maintenance. The trained miners would have to be well paid and labour laws would be in place. This apart there could be a demographic change in the coal rich areas. Besides, scientific mining is affordable only by the rich.
This issue becomes more serious when viewed from the global perspective. Scientists in their attempt to clamp the mercury rise by 1.5 degree celsius by 2030 as agreed at COP 26 at Glasgow, had fervently begged all coal producing countries to drastically reduce dependence on coal within a time frame. Green energy like solar and wind are encouraged. Bill Gates donated 5 billion US $ to COP 26 for new Green Cement plants. The old cement plants right now are among the 9 world energy intensive industries due coal being fired to generate power and used in the kilns. The green premium cement would cost 70% more. In Meghalaya a bag of cement costs Rs 400. The green cement would cost Rs 680 – a raise of Rs 280 which is not a huge difference.
After all the above, the NPP along with the ‘High Level’ transport operators should instead thank Dr Mukul Sangma for having enjoyed the 5 years of mining and transportation of coal right under the nose of the NGT and enforcement agencies. And coal money is what is used to distribute freebies for the last one year until the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) kicked in.
Yours etc.,
W. Passah,
Nongkrem
Operation Dost: Kudos India !
Editor,
Under Operation Dost, India’s humanitarian aid to quake hit Turkey and Syria is a testament to the country’s commitment to helping those in need. The operation was christened as ‘Dost’ which means ‘Friend’ in Hindi as well as Turkish literature .The earthquake is a tragedy of the greatest proportions. it is still heartening to see the whole world slowly come together and help the people of the two affected nations get back on their feet. Equally heartening is to know that India is now a major part of the rescue operations. The ethos of India’s humanitarian assistance can be traced to its cultural and spiritual values. It is a testament to how far we have come as a nation that we are now taking the lead globally of offering help to other nations after great moments of tragedy.
Yours etc .
M.Haque (Advocate),
Shillong-6
Hypocrisy of the Dispur-controlled puppets
Editor,
The electorate of Shillong and semi-urban areas who understand English can very well understand political vocabulary. It is ironic that the BJP should, at this juncture, lampoon the NPP and vice versa in the last few months before elections were announced. Have the BJP forgotten that they are part of the NPP-led MDA Government? Now the BJP wants to lay all the scams at the doorstep of the NPP and is accusing the latter of corruption, scams and scandals. This is sheer hypocrisy. The Assembly Dome scam, the FCI rice scam, Covid scam, wages of labourers during Covid, ISBT, Smart Meter, illegal encroachment of state boundaries and so many more things can be blamed on both the coalition partners including the UDP. The MDA government was remotely controlled from Dispur and Delhi which is why the CBI enquiry of the Mukroh incident has gathered dust. So too the stoppage of funds under FCRA to Christian minority organizations and institutions. All these have put the Conrad led-government to abysmal shame. What is there that the MDA government can claim credit for in these five years? Let the electorate judge for themselves.
Yours etc..
Dominic Stadlin Wankhar,
Via email