The Voice of People Party (VPP) is following a script to place itself in a favourable position in the forthcoming District Council elections and protesting against price rise is bound to resonate with the people, meaning the voters, particularly the hapless low income group that is most afflicted by the Meghalaya-centric inflation. Pockets of the low and middle class citizens are most hurt by the random rise in prices of essentials necessary for a simple meal that can barely provide all the nutrition needed. Think fruits and they are out of the poor person’s menu so where does the necessary nutrition of Vitamin C, iron and potassium come from? Even local fruits such as bananas and pineapples are hardly affordable these days.
So the VPP has identified at least three reasons for the price escalation in essentials namely – the toll gates on the highways; the middlemen and the long route to Shillong post the ban on trucks crossing the Umiam bridge. On the last point about the Umiam Bridge, this is a legacy issue since past governments never bothered to think of alternative routes and never envisioned that the Umiam bridge could at some point crumble under the weight of overloaded coal trucks that traversed on it for decades. And that if the Umiam bridge collapses there would be a major communication crisis. The MDA Government is ostensibly planning on an alternative route but when that would materialise is anyone’s guess, considering that the National Highways and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (NHIDCL) has already stated upfront that completing any road project in Meghalaya is fraught due to roadblocks set up by different Dorbar Shnong and pressure groups.Surprisingly the VPP shot down the reason given by the Food and Civil Supplies Minister that the absence of railways added to the price escalation of essentials which also included building materials. So, is the VPP also on the same page with the Khasi Students Union on the issue of not wanting railways to come to Meghalaya? In that case, when will the VPP graduate from a street fighter to a political party with statesmanship qualities necessary to drive this state into a growth trajectory.
Pressure groups have their own agenda so should a political party rely on the support of such groups that are the reason for price rise because these groups collect tolls and taxes from trucks carrying fish, fruit and vegetables along the highways and even when they land at Shillong? It’s pointless for the VPP to beat around the bush without addressing the key reason for price rise which is the hafta collected by sundry groups from trucks bringing goods to Shillong. True, the lengthy route through the Shillong bypass also results in more fuel used and therefore an increase in carriage cost. As far as giving local farmers their due, what is important is for the Government to set up a farmer’s market in Shillong and its outskirts so that middlemen are eliminated and the public get their money’s worth of vegetables and fruits and the farmers too are not exploited. A farmer’s market is the need of the hour!
