Citizens must voice out their concerns
Editor
People have told me that it’s pointless expressing one’s response to The Shillong Times news and write-ups! ‘Who hears your voice?’ is the oft repeated refrain! Government is never moved by the plight of the people! Nevertheless, the article, Roads Cannot Take Priority over Water, by Gregory F Shullai, (ST May 11, 2023) has prompted me to respond! It is because he exercised his ‘Duty of Care’ to highlight an issue of the water priority, I reciprocate my duty too through this letter.
It was comforting to see a photo of AL Hek inaugurating the newly installed water taps contributed by the Rotrary Club at Nongmensong, on page 4 of the same day. And I chuckled at AL Hek’s frank address, ”Rotary Club is an organisation which reaches out where even the government fails to reach.” How very true!
Now, if we the people (including NGOs) don’t raise our voices and ‘vie with each other in offering solutions .”the agonising suffering by the voiceless people in this crisis will persist. The crisis is acute and alarming in many localities, but because water tankers are readily available, our frustrations simmer!
I’m interested to know whether the affected people/localities, through the Headman, can take up the case in the court of law against the government’s failure to provide a basic right. Someone has to be held accountable! And on the other hand if our trees and forests are mercilessly hacked to make way for new and wider roads then catchment areas will dry up leading to irreversible damage! I wonder why all the Shillong Greater Water Supply projects since the early 1980s have not come to fruition?
Is it not too late to construct reservoirs as seen in many hill areas?
Yours etc.,
Kevin Phillips
Shillong – 19
Sohra : Yesterday, today and tomorrow
Editor,
“Cherrapunjee” is a name given by the British but “Sohra” in local dialect, is the place where the highest rainfall in the world is recorded, till its record is broken by nearby Mawsynram. It lies in the southern part of Meghalaya, where the plains of Bangladesh can be clearly seen from its rolling hills; it’s on these Hills that the British came, conquered and settled in the early 1800’s, to escape the heat and humidity of the plains. It had been the capital of the erstwhile Assam province till it was shifted to Shillong in 1861. It’s the place where the first church and first Khasi was baptized by the Missionary from Wales, Rev. Thomas Jones, who is subsequently called “Father of the Khasi alphabet.” Rev. Thomas Jones not only pioneered the change in education, religion but also the economic, social, political and modern outlook of the Khasis who until the advent of the missionaries were simple tribals, backward and almost primitive people with their animistic beliefs.
With the passage of time and the fall of the once almighty British empire in 1947, the Khasi and Jaintia Hills with their many local chieftains, had voted to merge with India and not with East Pakistan. With the partition of India and East Pakistan now called Bangladesh, trade that once flourished between the hills and plains stopped abruptly, with the coming of the international border. Khasis in Sohra Area had depended heavily on that trade, and a ropeway company was set up by the British, to supply limestone and coal to the plains of Bangladesh. Deposits of coal and limestone are found abundantly in Sohra and its adjoining area.
Therefore many villagers are forced to migrate to other places for better economic opportunities. In the 1960’s, the then Government of Assam with an intention to create job opportunities to the local population, had established a cement factory to take advantage of the huge deposit of limestone, coal and clay found in the surrounding area of Sohra. ACC or Assam cement corporation was set up, which later was renamed to MCCL; Mawmluh Cherra Cement Limited after the creation of the state of Meghalaya.
This is the company that my father worked for till he retired, and it’s the same company that I joined in 2005 till date. With the ruling of the NGT in 2014 stopping the extraction and exporting of coal in Meghalaya, the company started to face losses and in 2020 with the Covid epidemic it faced a death knell. Now in 2023 and 4 years without regular salary, the people in the surrounding areas and the employees face a tough life. Now it’s more urgent that we look back and retrospect what we did right. This is the age of globalization and with the world becoming a small village, the travelling and tourism industry is the major revenue earning department for the Government, and also giving jobs to local communities. Sohra with its picturesque locales, renowned unique brand of cool weather, meandering rivers, green hills, cascading waterfalls, forest trails and trekking, welcoming local people, etc offers both national and international tourists a place to enjoy and remember.
The Government had encouraged the local populace to invest in homestays, resorts, eateries to tap into the flow and the basic need of both national and international tourists. But the Government needs to do more by attracting private or public investment in the industry, and by additional push in basic infrastructure like roads, water, electricity, security etc, so that footfalls of both national, international and high end tourists will go up. The rise in footfalls will bring more crucial revenue for the local populace. Moreover, they provide permanent jobs to local people with safe, secure and stable earnings.
Agriculture, horticulture, food processing unit, health and wellness centre, centre of education etc, or other avenues that are relevant to the weather of Sohra and it’s location or are aligned to the sustainable development agenda of the government or the local communities should be urgently pushed by the government to boost the socio-economic upliftment and productivity of the local communities. The Government, NGO’s, community leaders should urgently address the problem of unemployment, by pushing as had been done in the 60’s, but now reversely from non-sustainable development activity to more environment friendly and sustainable activity.
The local population has enough trained manpower, skilled, semi-skilled or unskilled workforce ready to be absorbed in any sustainable activities initiated by the above mentioned project. But the only crucial and critical point, is to make sure these private, public entities coming to invest should not infringe and trample on the rights of all workforce, by depriving or discriminating them on the basis of their pay or otherwise, so that their safety, security and stabilized earning capacity is not compromised. This in turn will ease the frustration of many jobless, unemployed youth making them positive contributors to the society, community and the nation as a whole.
Yours etc.,
Pynskhem Lyngdoh
Mawkisyiem, Sohra