Editor,
After years of reading about Shillong’s looming water crisis, I have finally decided to speak up about what I have personally endured for 14 years.
Let me start with the good news, Nongrah is a remarkably well-organised locality. The Rangbah Shnong, the Rangbah Dong, the Secretary Shnong, these aren’t just names on a letterhead. They actually work and they turn up. Previously in the morning, now in the evening, they are at their office for a good three to four hours, sorting things out, making decisions, signing papers, and generally keeping the gears turning. No small feat in a state where “official work” often moves at the speed of an elderly cow crossing the road.
Nothing happens under the table (this is both from personal experience and what I’ve heard from friends). Buying and selling land is conducted efficiently and transparently. No extra greasing of palms required. You pay the stipulated fee, no more, no less. If you’ve ever lived in Shillong, you’ll know that this level of efficiency and accountability is not a given. I’ve moved around enough to say with confidence that, in most places, the local office is more of a rumour than an institution. But here, the system works.
Except for one tiny, insignificant detail.
There. Is. No. Water.
Yes, in a place that runs like clockwork, the taps remain as dry as my optimism during load-shedding season.
But not everyone here shares this parched existence. The original settlers have water because, when they arrived, divine wisdom instructed them to dig and dig they did. Then, as the locality expanded, a new rule appeared, “no more boring of water, as it would deplete the groundwater table”. An admirable, noble environmentally conscious decision.
Now, I may not be an expert in hydrogeology (I had to Google that…literature, for all its wisdom, never quite prepared me for water politics), but here’s a head-scratcher: if some residents have unlimited access to water and sell it to the rest of us and even to other localities, how, in the name of basic logic, does that constitute groundwater conservation? Either their wells are blessed with divine regeneration or someone ought to clarify the science or the spin behind this curious arrangement.
Now, I don’t want to sound ungrateful. Two years ago, the grand pipe-laying began. Test runs were even conducted. Water actually flowed. Into tanks. Into people’s homes. It was beautiful. It was biblical. I filmed it because it felt like a moment of historical significance! Then, as if realising it had made a terrible mistake, the water stopped.
Since then, the pipes have been left to the mercy of time and plain bad luck. Some have been dislodged by passing cars, some repurposed by local kids in their ongoing war against boredom. The only logical conclusion is that the pipes were never meant for water. Maybe they’re an art installation. At this point, we should just hold a funeral service for them and be done with it.
But wait, more pipe-laying is still happening! “Hope springs eternal” ( Pope says) even if water does not. Fresh trenches are being dug, new pipes are being installed and the faithful among us still believe that one day, these sacred conduits may actually carry water. Maybe. Hopefully.
Perhaps, in some distant future, archaeologists will stumble upon them and conclude that we were an ancient civilization that worshipped dry pipelines, offering prayers in the form of empty buckets. Until then, we remain devout followers of this great tradition…thirsty, exasperated and still waiting for a miracle!
Yours etc.,
Ellerine Diengdoh,
Via email
Why target USTM unfairly?
Editor,
The University of Science and Technology Meghalaya popularly known as USTM is a relatively new but well-known private university located at 9th Mile, Khanapara, Meghalaya. The University in its establishment since 2008 has achieved many milestones, such as the First Private University from North East India to achieve an “A” grade from the NAAC; it was also ranked among the best 200 universities of India in the 9th edition of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2023 and it has also been honored with the prestigious title of “University of the Year 2024” at the Academic Insights Education Excellence Awards & Summit 2024. The University is also on its way to establish the first ever private medical college, which will not only be beneficial for the state but it will also allow the residents of the state to pursue their degrees without going too far from their homes.
The University has also hosted and participated in several international events, including conferences, workshops, and outreach programs, focusing on various fields like management, science, technology, and healthcare. Indeed USTM has been able to achieve a lot more than the other private universities in North East India. It is however saddening to see the University being targeted with unwarranted allegations, especially by the Chief Minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma who has come up with ridiculous allegations such as the flood jihad, fake degrees, financial irregularities etc. The CM has also claimed that the University was involved in facilitating cheating in exams, which has eventually led to the arrest of the Chancellor of the University, Mahbubul Hoque.
The Chancellor has refuted all the allegations made against him; his bail has also been denied by a court of Assam. It is saddening to see such a prestigious University getting unjustified hate. The allegations that have been made by the CM of Assam are not only defamatory towards the University but they are also an indirect attack on the Meghalaya Government.
The University was established by the USTM Act of 2018 and is recognised by the UGC, BCI, AICTE, NCTE, NAAC, AIU, therefore, the allegations of the University degrees being false degrees are untrue and do not have any grounds to stand on. Although the state has come up with a clarification, it is saddening to see that it hasn’t done much in this regard. The University has not only been a blessing to the students but it has also helped the people living in the area in getting employment. The area of Kiling, 9th Mile, which was earlier under-developed has now seen a lot of change and development. The University has been a big blessing for people of different walks of life.
Now with regards to the allegations made against the University and Chancellor for allowing students to cheat in the examination, only time will tell whether or not the allegations are true. However, the University still deserves to be protected from the hatred that is being thrown towards it, and the State Government must ensure that the students and the University are kept safe and protected.
As a former student of USTM it is disheartening to see the University being defamed to such ridiculous extents. USTM has achieved a lot in such a short time and in all its years of existence there has not been any such heinous attacks until recently. The Government of Meghalaya must ensure that the students of the University are protected at all costs, as the USTM not only a pride of the students but of the whole State of Meghalaya as well.
Yours etc.,
Reakor Shisha Kharkrang,
Upper Shillong