Editor,
I am writing out of concern for the increasing number of hawkers in Laitumkhrah. While I understand that these individuals are trying to make a living, their presence on the main road has created several issues affecting the quality of life for residents and commuters alike.
Firstly, the hawkers have taken up a significant portion of the pavement, making it difficult for pedestrians to walk freely. This is particularly concerning during peak hours when the road is already congested with vehicular traffic and students. As a result, many pedestrians are forced to walk on the road itself, putting their safety at risk. Hawkers near ‘The Hut,’ the parking lot, Kalpataru, Beat House, Iew Shillong, and other places along the main road have taken up both sides of the pavement so when we have to walk, we have to walk in between their shops. Cars are being blocked by pedestrians and hawkers. Students are worst affected because they not only have to walk but they have to watch their siblings and friends, and they have to carry such heavy bags and not just one school bag but four if you count the tiffin bag and sports bag (sports equipment, gym clothes and all).
Secondly, the presence of hawkers has led to an increase in litter and waste along the road. Despite their efforts to keep their areas clean, the accumulation of discarded packaging, food waste, and other dirt has become an eyesore and a health hazard. This not only detracts from the overall cleanliness of the area but also creates an environment conducive to the spread of pests and diseases. Many of these hawkers have no sense of personal hygiene whatsoever. I have seen the men pee near their stalls and then serve their customers without washing their hands, spitting kwai everywhere, etc. The women, though they are cleaner still use their fingers and hands to mix their tobacco (khleh khoini, raja, etc.) spit kwai, put the tobacco in their mouths, do up their hair, check their fellow women for lice, touch shoes and other dirty things on the road. There is no clean and proper place for the women and men to go urinate or wash their hands even.
Moreover, the hawkers often block entrances to shops and residential buildings, cafes, and even the road, causing inconvenience to both business owners and residents, students, and vehicle drivers This obstruction has led to conflicts between hawkers and the rest of the world! Further escalating tensions on the main road. I have seen the hawkers show no respect to anyone, whether the person is old or young; they litter the streets with their thermocol boxes, vegetable debris, bones, and such from the meat they sell. Buses and cars cannot pass through and those with two-wheelers have no manners too for they park wherever they see fit! How are we supposed to live like this?
Laitumkhrah is a place where many outsiders, whether they are from Mawlai or Bhoi or even Pohkseh say it is such a “tip-top,” place, and laugh at us for being so modern and all but we have no sense of cleanliness. It’s such a pity. I have friends who live in Motinagar and Nongrim Hills and they say the “People of Laitumkhrah are so dirty; they live amongst rats and pests”. (Literal rats and pests and not the people).
I have no objection to hawkers being there, after all it’s a livelihood for them, but why are they not respecting and behaving with the people, especially the elderly and students? Why do they have more than one shop? A lady right next to the parking lot has three shops all along the main road. Another lady has two shops, one in Police Point and the other in Beat House. One woman has a fruit shop and her husband is a beggar with the new Samsung phone So, are they really poor? How do they have money to set up so many stalls on the road? How do they get their produce and clothes to sell? If it was so easy and so cheap, the people from Iew Shillong would actually have more shops than the ones they have in the market itself.
The most important question that actually comes to mind therefore is – why is everyone suffering?
Why do we have to fight for our own rights and our own safety? Who is at fault here? Hypothetically, If we were to shift our hawkers to Veronica Lane or any other place for that matter, would they dirty that place too? In place of the hawkers, would people with cars, two-wheelers, and no manners park there? Why should we all be in trouble? Shouldn’t the authorities concerned take care of things and be done with it? Meghalaya used to be a beautiful place but now it’s becoming filthy and it reflects on the character of the people living and making their living from here.
I end this letter with the belief that hawkers should have a place for them to earn their livelihood but they should do so with responsibility and show respect to the place that provides them their livelihoods. We should also respect the hawkers but most importantly we need to know whether the hawker is actually a poor person that cannot afford to pay rent or is it a case of hawkers wanting to transact from a free space because they do not want to pay rent for a proper stall? No one should get away by citing poverty as an excuse to set up shop anywhere and everywhere.
Yours etc.,
Shailin H. Lyngdoh
Shillong 11
Why the discrimination even in protests?
Editor,
A 14-year-old Dalit girl was forcibly taken away on Sunday night from her house in Muzaffarpur district, Bihar. Her body was found in a semi-naked condition in a pond on Monday. She was allegedly gang-raped and killed. On Wednesday night, Kolkata witnessed an inspiring nocturnal vigil by women who marched for the sake of justice for the victim of a heinous crime who was a postgraduate trainee doctor at the R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata.
I fully support the movement for justice for the trainee doctor in Kolkata, but I feel let down as there is no movement for justice against the criminals who committed no less a crime in Muzaffarpur in comparison to what happened in Kolkata. A victim is a victim, irrespective of her or his class, caste, religion, gender, and status. Whereas a criminal is a criminal, irrespective of those considerations and political colour.
The Muzaffarpur victim was Dalit, poor, and lived under a double engine government, but all that should not deter those who fight for justice from organising a mass movement against the criminals.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata