Editor,
Pynthorbah struggles with regular power cuts despite ‘no load shedding’ announcement. Contrary to assurances from the Power Minister, residents and business establishments in Pynthorbah Constituency face an epidemic of continuous, long-hour, and multiple power cuts throughout the day. The incessant interruptions are bringing life to almost a standstill, raising serious questions over the stability of the power infrastructure and the credibility of official statements.
The Crippling Reality on the Ground
For the people of Pynthorbah, “no load shedding” has now assumed ironic proportions. The huge power cuts, sometimes dragging on for hours together, have reduced day-to-day existence into an unremitting battle.
Residential Distress: Families are unable to complete basic chores, students preparing for exams are left in the dark, and dependence on unreliable inverters is spiking household costs.
Business Catastrophe: The SMEs, which form the backbone of the local economy, are experiencing huge losses. Shops, printing services, and even essential service providers like barbers are crippled, leading to less productivity at the economic level. Food items in grocery stores and restaurants are vulnerable to spoilage; this means loss of investment.
Workload Pending: These cuts are devastating particularly for those dependent on digital infrastructure, whether they be government offices, private firms, or even individuals relying on working from home. Critical data is destroyed, deadlines missed, and the general atmosphere rendered chaotic with unproductive work.
Assurance vs. Actuality, The Official Stand: Recently, the Power Minister had assured the public in no uncertain terms that the power scenario was stable and there was no plan to implement load shedding. The frequent cuts, though, have been occasionally blamed by MeECL officials on essential maintenance and infrastructure upgrade work, not attributed to load shedding.
While infrastructure improvement is important, the increasing frequency of load shedding and unpredictability of the outages hint at a systemic issue that goes beyond that. Residents believe that anything causing prolonged, unannounced disruptions cannot be termed anything but an outage, whatever the official name. The lack of proper communication, with minimal or no advance notice for such ‘maintenance’ shutdown, adds to the frustration and leaves the public unprepared.
Yours etc.,
Vincent Nongkynrih,
Via email
Meghalaya : Fresh Water a Wasted Resource
Editor,
The ST article titled “Water Abundance vs Water Scarcity: Meghalaya’s Paradox of Policy and Reality” Dt 10/12/25 by Bhogtoram Mawroh is, I sincerely believe, a writeup that deserves the serious attention of Meghalaya’s policy makers. Meghalaya is a piece of real estate that is blessed with many natural resources that are slowly revealing themselves as some of the most sought after in an environmentally conscious world and a planet with a growing unease over threats from Climate change and Global Warming. We are a tribal upland state with established social traditions and customs that bring our people closer to nature than most other communities. As per claims of the Govt, 75% of the state’s geographical area is covered in community owned forests. The climate as well as the pollution levels, in the state as a whole, well under control primarily because of this social capital. We are the envy of other more developed, industrialized and populous but environmentally threatened states. A fact that is just beginning to register itself in the rest of India and which we are just starting to realize, is a huge tourist asset and an economy builder for Meghalaya provided we have the will and policy to keep it that way.
Getting back to Bhagtoram’s article mentioned above, the writeup dwelt on the abundance of yet another Meghalayan natural resource, but one the potential of which we are yet to recognize and which sadly at present we treat with complete indifference if not actual contempt. This is with regard to the fresh water the state receives annually from each and every monsoon. During such periods fresh water in the form of rain literally pours from the heavens. Now based on the article mentioned above and the data presented therein, the following is the amount ( in cubic meters) of rain Meghalaya receives each year together with the maximum usage made from it and the leftover which is allowed to go to waste: (a) Fresh water in the form of rain received each year – 655.418 million cu mt. (b) based on the water requirement of 35 cu mtr / per person / year, the domestic water needs for 34 lac population plus ground absorption comes to an app total of 119 million cu mtr. (c) Subtracting 119 million cu mtr from 655.418 million cu mtr , we have a spare / wastage of app 536.4135 million cu mtr of fresh water every year which simply flows down hill to add to the floods of Assam and Bangladesh.
Now there are predictions and quite credible too , that if oil was a cause of most wars during the 20th century, disputes over fresh drinking water will be the cause of much more terrible conflicts in the 21st Century. Universal thirst in the decades to come will make countries/ societies with fresh water the most envious and with this the rich too if they are capable of turning their freshwater resources into economic assets. One begins to wonder if the current covetous eyes of Bangladesh on the NE States has anything to do with the above prediction? The point one is trying to make is that the earlier Meghalaya starts recognizing the blessings that pour upon us every monsoon, the better it will be for the economic interest of future generations and the development of the state. Identifying technologies on how to harvest this bounty from heaven will be a good starting point. Consultancies with countries such as Israel, that possess proven technology and expertise on water harvesting methods should be examined. The Israeli Embassy in New Delhi, just 100 meters from Meghalaya House, would be a good place to start. Secondly, concentrating on how we revitalize our springs and aquifers and how we go about cleaning our polluted rivers and streams will, in the long run, only add to our economic advantage. Thirdly and most important, wasting 536.4135 million cu mtr of fresh water every year, a commodity with an ever increasing value is simply criminal if not total lack of vision and foresight.
Yours etc.,
Toki Blah,
Via email
