The reality about the State of Meghalaya is that neither the public nor the Government ever learn lessons after the first flush of public anger, disappointment, loss and despair quickly fade from memory. In November 2019 a 117 year old church at Qualapatty was gutted leaving an elderly couple living in the adjacent house dead due to asphyxiation. On Saturday October 14 a fire raged at Police Bazar. The fire could not be fully doused even after 48 hours. It was the alacrity of the Army and Air Force fire-fighters that succeeded in taming the flames to some extent. The state fire tenders with their bulky bodies could not enter the Police Bazar area via Bijou Cinema and onwards because the entire road has been taken up by hawkers who will not budge from their predetermined positions.
In the 2019 incident the prime reason for the fire not being contained fast enough was because the fire tenders could not maneuver their way into the locality with its narrow lanes. If that was not bad enough, vehicles parked on one side of the lane made matters worse. Much was discussed then about the impediments to disaster management but no concrete action was taken thereafter. That’s the history of governance in Meghalaya. It does not work for the ordinary citizen. However, this is not to say that the problems are of recent vintage. Key decisions on the larger public good are left to hang fire because of a few powerful voices that hold the government to ransom. Meghalaya is one state that has no zoning system hence buildings in residential areas also have shops on the ground floor. Some of those shops sell combustible items like wooden furniture or have godowns storing easily inflammable items. This was what happened in the Saturday fire. A godown housing wooden furniture was gutted and the fire quickly spread to residential buildings upstairs and around the godown. That houses are now being constructed without adhering to the by-laws of the Meghalaya Urban Development Authority (MUDA) to leave at least six feet space between two neighbouring houses speaks volumes about the MUDA’s own oversight if any. People who violate the MUDA by-laws are hardly penalised because they pay their way through. This is the reality of Meghalaya. Corruption has eaten into the vitals of the governance system and it would take a government with a tough spine to undo the decades of wrongdoing.
It’s time the State Fire Service too upgrades itself and obtains water tankers that are less bulky. The state of preparedness of officials manning the Fire Service too needs to be assessed. They cannot be let off the hook all the time for failing to carry out their primary duties. Finally, it’s time the MDA-02 Government dealt with a firm hand and with pragmatism the problem of hawkers encroaching into public roads. They are mainly responsible for the delayed arrivals of the fire tenders. The public can no longer be held to ransom by hawkers. That’s why they elected a Government!
