Editor,
For the past three days, Meghalaya has been facing nature’s fury with the onslaught brought by Cyclone Remal, leading to incessant rains. This forced authorities to close schools, colleges, and universities on May 28. While this provided relief to students, parents and educators, it left office-goers with no choice but to brave the weather – rains, and gusty winds and commute to work.
My routine is to use a car when it rains. I live in Nongthymmai, a place famous for its traffic congestion, especially in the morning hours which makes it difficult to commute by car which would take an hour or more to reach my workplace in Dhankheti. Hence I opt for a two-wheeler which makes it easier to reach my workplace. However, to my surprise, the usually clogged roads with heavy traffic jams were not so clogged. Of course, cars were plying on the roads but the usual traffic jam that I would normally experience every morning was missing, allowing me to reach my workplace on time.
This ease of travel made me introspect. While it is easy to point fingers at the shortcomings of the government and concerned departments in addressing traffic issues, perhaps, it is also time that we, as citizens, take a closer look at our own roles in adding to the congestion. The closure of schools, and subsequent absence of parents dropping their children to educational institutions, undoubtedly seemed to play a significant role in alleviating traffic congestion.
It also begs the question: Could better utilization of school buses such as STEMS, coupled with willingness from parents to embrace this mode of transport, contribute to a sustained reduction of morning traffic jams? While I acknowledge the challenges parents face in entrusting their children to school buses for a number of reasons, as I myself am a young woman too, it is worth considering the broader impact on traffic flow.
This letter is not to criticise anyone, especially not the parents, but a gentle reminder that we all have our part to play in all aspects of governance including tackling traffic congestion. While government intervention and policies remain crucial, our individual choices also add weight towards shaping the traffic landscape of our state.
Yours etc.,
Cassandra K Gatphoh,
Shillong -14
Of fake notifications
Editor,
These days one sees fake notifications and circulars attributed to the government, being circulated by some groups and individuals. This is uncalled for and needs to be dealt with severely in accordance with the law. Creating and circulating false information like that has caused panic, confusion, and raises many questions. Henceforth the credibility of any information will be questioned and government notifications will not be taken seriously because of this menace.
An example is the notification of the closure of schools and institutions on account of the cyclonic storm. A fake or forged notification appeared on social media saying that all government offices and institutions too would remain closed thereby creating both panic and confusion.
Secondly, the fake circulation of the MBOSE, HSSLC and SSLC result notification has also become a trend, happening as it does every year. Why is this happening from time to time? Why can’t we put a stop to this nuisance and nip it in the bud? Its high time that individuals indulging in such cyber-crimes are apprehended and given stringent punishment.
It’s a crime to disseminate wrong information to the public and the Indian Penal Code has clearly mandated that anyone involved in cyber-crime should be dealt with stringently. The IT Cell of the State Government or the Cyber-Crime Branch of the Police Department can easily track who is the perpetrator who first escalated the information which spread like wildfire.
May I suggest that the Government upload these orders and notifications on their official websites so as to enable the public to verify the authenticity of the orders/circulars issued with QR codes printed on them to prevent misuse and so that the same can be verified on our mobile phones. This practice of circulating fake notices in the name of the government has to stop!.
Yours etc.,
Chanmiki Laloo