For want of a bridge, inflation skyrockets
Editor
What sort of a welfare state is ours that it takes care of one welfare at the cost of another? The statement made by the Government that the Umiam bridge is more important for the welfare of vehicles, while the public suffers the inflation which has touched the 40% mark is ridiculous. If the Government officials put themselves in the shoes of the general public then only will they feel the brunt of the inflation which affects common people who are the real sufferers and feel the brunt of inflation with their fixed income. Even the prices of vegetables in Shillong are not below Rs. 100 per Kg whereas the prices of the same vegetables are comparatively lower in Guwahati than Shillong. Why were no steps taken at the time of retrofitting to make the bridge capable of taking more than 9 MT load.
The other road which is constructed is not at all fit for even small cars and LMVs so why were no steps taken to improve that road in spite of having taken more than six months time and the Government now says that it may take more time to improve the road. In this gap of time another bridge over the dam could have been built taking advantage of the Ministry of Surface & Road Transport under Union Minister, Nitin Gadkari who could have assisted the Government in building another bridge across the Umiam Dam much more worthy than the present one.
We ask the Government to take steps to ameliorate the difficulties of the general public.
Yours etc.,
S L Singhania,
Shillong
Untouchability the silent terrorism
Editor,
When I read the news report that the Vankhandeshwar temple in Kanpur was washed with “1,000 litres” of Ganga water on November 2 to “purify” the temple because a Muslim woman had entered and prayed at the temple, the words of BR Ambedkar came to my mind, “Untouchability has ruined the untouchables, the Hindus and ultimately the nation as well.”
Untouchability morally kills victims and spiritually destroys perpetrators. It is akin to suicide bombing. Swami Vivekananda rescued himself from momentary lapses that could have taken him to the ugly trap of untouchability. He realised that if he failed to take untouchability head-on, it would have cost him all that he learned from Sri Ramakrshna and his human soul.
One evening, Swami Vivekananda was walking along a village street in northern India. When he came near a small cottage, he saw an old man smoking a hookah. Swami Vivekananda asked the old man if he would give him his hookah. The old man said, “Oh, Swami, I am a scavenger, I am an untouchable. How can I give you my hookah?”
Swami Vivekananda said to him, “I am sorry. Alas, I won’t be able to smoke.” Vivekananda left him and continued walking.
A few minutes later he felt miserable. He said to himself, “What am I doing? What have I done? Did not Thakur teach me that wherever there is a human being, there also is Lord Shiva? Each human being embodies God. This is what I have learned from my Master, Sri Ramakrishna.
I have given up everything. I am a sanyasin. So, I am one with the rest of the world by virtue of my renunciation. Yet, although I have renounced everything, still I have preserved this sense of discrimination. Here is a cobbler; here is a scavenger; here is a Brahmin; here is a Shudra. Low caste, high caste — how can I have the heart to distinguish? Are they not all God’s children? The sense of separatism, of superiority and inferiority — how can I have that kind of feeling?”
Vivekananda then went running back to the old man and said, “Please, please, give me your hookah. Each man is God Himself.” The old man hesitantly gave the hookah to Swami Vivekananda who smoked and then said to the old man, “I am divinely happy, supremely happy, for two reasons. My human desire is fulfilled. I am able to smoke. My divine desire is fulfilled because I have been able to realise my inner vision of universal oneness. My Supreme Lord abides in all. This vision of mine I have been able to manifest today by smoking here from your hookah at your house. God is for all. I shall remain ever grateful to you, for it is through you that my Lord has taught me the supreme lesson that we are all one, we are all equal, we are all children of our Absolute Lord Supreme.”
Not only did Swami Vivekananda rescue himself from the abyss of untouchability, but he showed to the world that there should not be any place for untouchability in Hinduism by worshipping and touching the feet of a Muslim girl as Goddess Durga in Kashmir in 1898.
We should not let the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and Swami Vivekananda be watered down by not protesting against the naked display of untouchability. Public display of untouchability is silent terrorism. Such an act is against the Constitution of India in general and Article 17 in particular, which says, “‘Untouchability’ is abolished and its practice in any form is forbidden.”
Prompt legal action must be taken against those who indulge in untouchability.
Yours etc.,
Sujit De,
Kolkata
Public roads not toilets for pet dogs
Editor,
It is indeed good news that the Shillong Municipal Board has finally announced mandatory registration for pet dogs, along with a requirement for dog tags for identification “Pet Registration,” (ST, November 6, 2024). Dog owners are also advised to keep their pets from roaming freely in public places. In fact, this was a much sought-after demand by the public.
There have been numerous cases of pet dogs causing havoc in many neighborhoods. Nine months ago, a young girl was attacked by a pet dog that had been let loose by its owner. When her distressed parents knocked on the owner’s door for help, they were met with a “teethy” hostility. Instead of empathizing with the victim, the owner arrogantly barked back, blaming the parents and suggesting they should have taught their child to walk more carefully on the road.
Here’s another chilling incident: about two years ago in Upper Mawprem, an apparently rabid pet dog bit more than a dozen people, including children, over the span of three days, sending shockwaves through the neighbourhood. Many families were forced to go around begging for money to afford vaccinations. Situations like this highlight the urgent need for responsible pet ownership—not only for the safety of other residents but for everyone’s peace of mind.
Equally disgusting is the behavior of certain pet owners who seem to think public roads are appropriate “toilets” for their dogs. This is truly outrageous. In some neighbourhoods, many roads have become so littered with dog excrement that pedestrians, especially children, find it nearly impossible to avoid stepping on it and unknowingly tracking it into their living rooms and kitchens. This has, in fact, become a serious concern. The Municipality should make ‘poop scoopers’ mandatory for pet owners who take their pets out. Our town should not look so dirty and messy. It’s high time we struck a balance between compassion for animals and basic public decency. Let’s keep barking for a cleaner, safer, and more responsible Shillong! Kudos to the pet owners who also care for and feed stray dogs.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali,
Shillong