Railways: Its now or never
Editor,
As an elderly citizen of this state I have been hearing about the proposed railways project to Byrnihat in Meghalaya a couple of years after the state was born. The project never took off because of opposition from the Khasi Students’ Union (KSU), then led by people like the present Tourism and Arts and Culture Minister, Paul Lyngdoh. One wonders if he has changed his mind after being in the Government and seeing things from close quarters and also the stark reality that Meghalaya is facing in terms of inflationary prices of essential commodities due to the very steep cost of transportation by road. For so long Meghalaya has been playing games with successive Governments in Delhi, in particular the Railways Ministry. In this respect our Garo brethren have been more astute in accepting the railways upto Mendipathar while here some pressure groups keep harping on influx as a result of the railways coming to the Khasi-Jaintia Hills. This is ridiculous and should be taken head on by the present government which comprises a young set of ministers who have travelled extensively to different parts of the world and know what progress entails.
Also in recent times, MLAs have travelled to the USA ostensibly to learn about legislative procedures and to see how the US system is functioning. The Government has invested money on their travels and stay there. What learning have they brought back with them for the benefit of the state and the citizens here. Why are the legislators silent on the railway project? What is the reason for the opposition? The KSU has been saying that the Government of India should first implement the Inner LIne Permit (ILP) before allowing the railways to come in. This is not the demand of the people of Garo Hills who have accepted the railways and its benefits. Can only the people of Khasi and Jaintia Hills decide the fate of Meghalaya every time and all the time? Should this issue of railways not become a subject of state level discussion and should the people of the whole state not be involved in matters that affect Meghalaya? Why should there always be a division where Garos speak only on behalf of Garo Hills and the Khasi-Jaintia speak only for their people? When will Meghalaya be treated as a state where all three tribes have equal worth and equal responsibility?
Time has come for the people of Meghalaya to stand as one and think together for the welfare of the entire state and not be divided along ethnic lines.This division has already caused so much pain over the decades and left the state under-developed. There should be a common platform where the issues of the state are discussed by all citizens irrespective of their ethnicities. This has been a missing factor in Meghalaya for too long. Naturally the statehood day celebration over the years is just a farce with no real development taking place and as a result no jobs have been created. The youth are facing a desperate situation and are being pushed to drugs. Many are without hope for the future. Unless collective thinking starts and all the legislators sit together and deliberate over these critical issues, Meghalaya will remain the underdog of the North East. Railways are a necessity in the present times. Let the MDA Government give a definite “Yes” or and emphatic“No” to the Union Railways Ministry and lets end the debate once and for all.
Yours etc.,
Aristobell Kharpran,
Via email
Mawkynrew violence
Editor,
It is unfortunate that there should be violence over the construction of a school by the Rama Krishna Mission (RKM) when the need of the hour for the rural areas of Meghalaya is for a good and efficient school that delivers education. Meghalaya is already a poor performer in education when compared to other states as far as educational outcomes are concerned. The recent revelation by the Chief Minister that over 2000 schools are under-performing, some with zero enrolment but with teachers being paid for by the Government. In such a situation, the RKM which has been around for over a century educating our people without any attempt to proselytise any of the students has faced resistance from the villagers of Mawkynrew area. From newspaper reports the reason given for the resistance to building the school is that the ground on which it is being built is meant for a football ground. Considering that there is so much land available around the area for a football ground, the reason sounds implausible. There have to be other insidious reasons for the outburst in the village.
Never before has it happened that a village meeting would be called to stop the building of a school. The RKM is not going to lose anything if it withdraws from Mawkynrew and shifts to another village where people are willing to welcome them with open arms.Those who will lose out will the students from Syntung and adjoining areas who would have to travel all the way to Jongksha which is several kilometers away and without a reliable public transport system, whereas all the RKM schools provide school buses. The matter as of now is sub-judice and it is wrong of the Dorbar Shnong Mawkynrew to force the issue unless there has been some instigation from some quarters.
These days the MLA of Mawkynrew has been promising to provide football grounds across the constituency. Perhaps this is the reason for the Sordar Shnong Mawkynrew to be excited about getting the RKM to vacate the place so that a football field can replace an educational institution. In a state where the drop-out rate is so high I wonder what the qualification of the Sordar or Mawkynrew is and whether he knows the importance of education. This also brings to the fore the need for Meghalaya to have educated village leaders who understand the value of education over a football field.
It is our duty as concerned citizens to raise our voices against such arbitrary acts by a few village elders who tend to mislead the community.
Yours etc.,
GH Suting,
Shillong