Insensitive teachers
Teachers are increasingly turning dictators. With the onset of the new academic session a couple of so-called ‘reputed’ schools are meting out inhuman punishment to little kids. In one school the Nursery class teachers are punishing kids who can’t even pronounce words properly. Nursery children often return home with red cheeks and finger marks on their raw faces due to the merciless treatment of the teachers of this particular school. Imagine children who are going to school for the first time in their lives and have to face such brutality. Teachers insist that they write their alphabets when they can hardly hold a pencil. Many parents of nursery going children of this school are furious about the conduct of the teachers who pinch the cheeks of their wards because they can’t write the alphabets properly. These parents have even shown the bruised faces of their children to Shillong Jottings. In another ‘reputed’ missionary school a teacher who saw two boys talking in his class called them forward and rubbed their faces with full force against the blackboard. Who said that corporal punishment is passé. There are teachers who vent their wrath on kids possibly because they carry their own baggage. The parents are waiting and watching before they report to the authorities concerned. It’s time to discipline the teachers before the schools try and discipline children!
Anybody looking?
On the way up to Shillong from Guwahati or vice versa a viewpoint overlooks the Umiam Lake just beyond Mawiong (near Ryndang briew). The Tourism Department spent money to create that ‘Lookout point.’ It looked clean, good and decent until someone decided to set up a ramshackle tea stall. Just by the side of the stall is an enclosure covered with gunny bags apparently to serve as a temporary toilet. Both look awful. Does Tourism Department have to turn every little lookout point into a commercial space? It just shows that those manning the Department lack the creativity and finesse to design such spaces. Most tourists would like silence at such a point so they can savour the beauty of the lake and nature. Why does every place have to have a tea shop and of course the usual betel nut which people will eat and spit on the cemented area there. Tourism Department requires a total overhaul and the MTDC should stop becoming a source of sustenance for the Chairman (politician) where he can appoint kith and kin. The MTDC is integral to the development of tourism in Meghalaya. Why is the Government hell-bent on killing it?
Adjustments pending
Time and again we have mumbled with anguish and dismay at the lack of space for parking our four- wheeled companion while taking the little walk to complete our ‘important work’. The unavailability of a proper parking space coupled with the lethargy of the authorities to provide one has been a subject matter of debate for years. And now some of our frustrated citizens occupy half the lane of a narrow road or encroaching into the designated ‘walking path’ and at times hitting the brakes just about anywhere. Minor face lifts and an interest to make use of the resources available can go a long way in easing congestion, especially in the vicinity of hospitals. For instance, the melee created by senseless honking near Woodland Hospital premises can be eased by making use of the vacant petrol pump at Dhankheti which is at present home to vegetable vendors and houses an unorganized public toilet. This vacant space can surely be used in a meaningful way. The other conundrum is the Police Point junction at Laitumkhrah which is home to a presidential fleet of taxis parked bang in the middle of the street. This has gone on for decades and needs urgent overhaul. Shifting the stand to the market place and relocating the transformer can transform the chaotic landscape and allow space for parking private vehicles without the fear of seeing our wheels clamped.