Editor,
With reference to your thoughtful editorial Shillong Litfest Dividends (ST November 22, 2025) I wish to express my appreciation for the Shillong Literary Festival and the many enriching events it offered this year. I especially value the sessions for the deep influence they had on young minds and our youths who have a growing interest in literature and who eagerly seek such live experiences to inspire and guide them.
I personally felt, though I could not attend the festival, that your editorial conveyed its spirit, warmth, and genuine impact with great clarity. As someone who has spent many years with young learners, I could easily sense the hope and renewed curiosity such an event brings into their lives. With surety, I intend to attend such a programme next time.
The sessions featuring Banu Mushtaq, the International Booker Prize winner, must have been especially inspiring. Her honest sharing about her struggles and courage would surely encourage young listeners. The student-focused sessions also helped the youth understand how poetry rises from real feelings and why expression brings inner strength.
Your point about improving the facilities at Ward’s Lake is important. Better maintenance will enhance the experience for visitors, especially students.
Expecting such events every year so that our youth continue to find inspiration, direction, and emotional balance through literature, I look forward to the LitFest growing stronger.
Yours etc.,
Jairaj
Via email
Shocking that children are used to sell drugs!
Editor,
When a community groans under the scourge of drugs, silence becomes a dangerous consent. Well, it is impossible to remain unmoved after hearing what Paul Lyngdoh, advisor to the Social Welfare Department, shared with the media recently. His revelation that even small children are being used by drug traders is a very serious issue.
Living in close proximity to an area affected by the drug menace, I have often overheard the unsettling whispers. These whispers reveal how cleverly these networks operate. Those drug dealers could easily outsmart a police station located just a stone’s throw away. Their strategies are not just clever but deeply disturbing because they take advantage of the most “vulnerable and the least suspected.” Some of the most notorious drug dealers in certain Cantonment localities have reportedly drawn their own families into the business, including their in-laws and distant relatives. Small kiosks that appear harmless by day become covers for transactions by night. Some taxi drivers, daily wage workers and vagabonds are also lured into the trade and used as carriers.
The darkest part of this story is the involvement of children. If a child is made to act as an errand runner with drugs, there is every chance that the same child will grow up believing this trade is normal. Most of them might also fall prey to drug addiction later. I believe this is not merely a crime against the law but a crime against the future of the state! When Paul Lyngdoh held the Social Welfare Ministry, many arrests were made, including hardcore kingpins, for which the neighbourhoods around the Cantonment area remain ever grateful.
What I would like to further say here is that those suspected of drug peddling in the cantonment areas should not be allowed to stay in rented houses in any locality. Under Section 25 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, house owners are held equally liable if they knowingly allow their premises/houses/vehicles to be used for illicit activities such as drug trafficking or drug selling. The Shillong Cantonment authorities should take stern action against those owners who out of greed continue to give their houses on rent to those involved in illicit activities.
It is also heard that some relatives of drug dealers are themselves deeply into criminal and unmentionable anti-social activities and pose a serious threat to the entire neighbourhoods and state at large. Such fearsome activities would not have proliferated had the Cantonment authorities been more prompt in cracking the whip. Well, it is most surprising that defence land, often regarded as the very epitome of dignity, integrity and discipline, has now become infested with such anti-social felonies. Why can’t such things be weeded out for good? Does the Shillong Defence establishment lack the means and skills to deal with such criminal elements?
The Anti-Narcotics Task Force further dropped another bombshell! The major share of drugs entering Meghalaya end up flooding our own backyard. Just imagine the gravity of the situation. Should this fact not wake us all from our slumber? Any further hint of complacency from government machineries, community groups, NGOs, Rangbah Shnongs or residents will not just worsen the problem, it will only invite disaster. If the Assam Government can take such a hard line against the drug menace, why can’t the Meghalaya Government do the same?
Yes, parents and residents in the neighbourhoods must speak up or inform the police when they see something wrong, something suspicious! The police station, with utmost integrity, supports the citizens who come in with crucial inputs. It is our shared responsibility to protect our children. It is our foremost duty to safeguard our “tender hearts”. The true calling before us now is to preserve the moral fabric of families that keep society healthier. Development without a healthy society is meaningless.
Yours etc.,
Salil Gewali &
Richmond Kharbudon
Shillong-2
Demand coordinated civic accountability
Editor,
Despite crores of rupees being invested in Smart City projects, Tura’s urban development feels like a half-finished dream. Projects such as the Tura Bypass and Greater Water Supply promise progress, yet roadside infrastructure is crumbling. Street lights vanish, flower beds are dismantled, and public spaces are littered or illegally occupied by encroachers. The problems go beyond MUDA, the Municipal Board, and PWD. The District Administration, Tourism Department, Commissionerate of Food Safety, and Floriculture Department must all work together in close coordination. Who monitors the quality and safety of foods sold at roadside stalls? Who licenses these vendors, collects fees, or enforces safety regulations, especially when stalls are dangerously close to electricity transformers?
What role does the Floriculture Department play beyond occasional flower sales? These departments must actively maintain urban beauty, public safety, and provide livelihood opportunities. This is not just a project or a line item for anyone to exploit. Tura is the second most important urban center in Meghalaya after Shillong and deserves focused, respectful governance. Officers need to be instructed to stop wasting valuable time in endless tea sessions of chai, (tea) bandal ( beef tripe) kapa menil ( sticky rice) puri and office gossip. We need visible, consistent, and effective governance—not excuses. Illegal construction on streams, unregulated market stalls, and public littering show a total lack of civic responsibility and leadership. If the demand exists for more food stalls or catering outlets, authorities should propose and create regulated, designated markets and livelihood projects instead of allowing unplanned illegal sprawl that degrades public safety and aesthetics.
Funds should be directed toward sustainable urban upkeep rather than short-lived festivals. It is time for every citizen and officer to stand united, confront irresponsibility, demand inter-departmental coordination, protect our town’s heritage and safety, and ensure Tura rises as a shining example of smart, inclusive growth.
Our town is rotting, but with will and courage, we can reclaim it. Rise up, Tura. The change begins with us. Officers—get to work.
Yours etc.,
Vero Amana Sangma,
Via email
