Six leaders join party ranks in State

SHILLONG: In a major boost to the State BJP ahead of the 2018 Assembly elections, MDCs and leaders from other parties, including Congress’ Neil Antonio War, formally joined the saffron brigade here on Saturday.
The five leaders who officially joined the party apart from War are Congress leader Ismail Marak, NCP MDC Righteous Sangma, independent MDCs Sofiur Rahman and Kurosh Marak and UDP leader Field Marshall Mawpniang.
Speaking to media persons, BJP national spokesperson and Meghalaya in charge Nalin Kohli said the countdown has begun as far as MLAs and MDCs leaving the Congress is concerned. “No one wants to be on a sinking ship.”
He further said BJP welcomes anyone who wants to be a part of the party’s agenda of “Sab ka Saath Sab ka Vikas” (Collective efforts inclusive growth).
Stating that development activities have come to a standstill in the state, the BJP leader claimed that the Congress is losing its popularity and even its mandate in Meghalaya and the party has lost badly even in Garo Hills, which is the home turf of Chief Minister Mukul Sangma.
According to Kohli, the time has come for people to send a message, like the ones given out in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and the Assam elections, that they are opposed to corruption. He also pointed out that likeminded parties and organisations should work collectively to oust the Congress and set the base for a corruption-free government in Meghalaya. On pre-poll alliance, the BJP leader said that few political parties, including the UDP, are part of the North East Democratic Alliance (NEDA) but a final call on the matter would be taken at an appropriate time.
Meanwhile, Neil Antonio War said that his joining the BJP would strengthen the Executive Committee led by PN Syiem in the KHADC. He added that if given a ticket by the BJP, he would definitely contest the elections from Laitumkhrah constituency against sitting MLA Ampareen Lyngdoh.
It is for the first time that the BJP has made inroads into the KHADC with War among others joining the party ranks.

‘Mukul’s popularity waning’

SHILLONG: BJP national spokesperson and Meghalaya in charge Nalin Kohli said the state Congress leadership has been rattled by the fight put up by KHADC CEM P.N Syiem, who was suspended for anti-party activities.
Addressing a press conference here on Saturday, Kohli said the party is losing its popularity as a result of which the Chief Minister is trying to be in power in the KHADC by “violating all rules and regulations”.
“It is a fight where P.N Syiem is fighting on the basis of principles and rules whereas Chief Minister Mukul Sangma wants to take power by suppression and misuse of rules,” he told reporters.
Kohli said Sangma has sent the name of a bureaucrat to the chairman of the KHADC “but rule 12(1) clearly states that if the post of the chairman is vacant, the duty of the chairman should be fulfilled by the deputy chairman”. He added that if the deputy chairman’s post is vacant, then the charge is taken by a Council member appointed by the Governor.
The State government has sent the name of East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner PS Dkhar to the Governor to take over as the pro tem chairman of the KHADC after the chairman and the deputy chairman resigned recently.
The resignations of Chairman Mansturdy Nongrem and Deputy Chairman Donevan Wanlang, both from the Congress, came following the party’s stand to sever ties with the PDF coalition led by Syiem.
Meanwhile, when asked about the delay in releasing the pending amount of over Rs 15,000 crore under Non-Lapsable Central Pool of Resources for northeastern states, he said the fund would be distributed as per the rules and “will not be gifted”. “If the states make schemes without following rules and keep schemes incomplete, then there is bound to be a delay as far as releasing of funds is concerned,” he said.

SHILLONG: BJP national spokesperson and Meghalaya in charge Nalin Kohli has said he has not directed an inquiry into the allegations of misusing Central funds but the party just wants see the facts. The statement came a day after NPP president Conrad Sangma denied the allegations on Thursday that there was misuse of Rs 100 crore in the GHADC.
The GHADC executive council is led by NPP and is also supported by members of BJP.
Speaking on the matter, Kohli said the party just wants to find out the facts as BJP has a zero tolerance policy towards corruption.
The Garo Students’ Union has alleged that the GHADC has misused Rs 100-crore central development fund and has flouted Niti Aayog guidelines in disbursing fund and allotting projects for different areas in Garo Hills.
However, NPP president Conrad Sangma had denied the allegations saying the GHADC Executive Council had adhered to the guidelines of Niti Aayog and that there was no question of any scam.
“If any one writes a letter and alleges something, it does not mean all such allegations are correct,” Sangma had said.

SHILLONG: The enrolment of names under the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) for issuing ‘Aadhaar’ in rural areas of East Khasi Hills District is almost complete.
Informing this here on Saturday, East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner P.S. Dkhar said that the response from the public in rural areas has been very encouraging. He said that once the enrollment process in rural areas is over, the district administration would focus on semi urban areas like Mawlai, Umpling and Nongthymmai.
Dkhar added that the teams are still conducting the enrolment in rural areas of the district even as he added that enrolment process in semi urban areas will commence after holding consultations with the headmen.
The Centre has set December 2017 deadline for 100 per cent enrolment in the country. It has been informed about the problems faced by Assam, Meghalaya in implementing Aadhaar.

UNESCO in touch with government to identify sites

SHILLONG: Sohra, a major tourist destination with several records for receiving heavy rainfall, will get a facelift as the State government is taking initiatives to declare it as a world heritage site, set up a geo park and a rain museum.
The UNESCO is in touch with the State government to identity natural heritage sites in the entire stretch of Sohra and beyond before officially declaring them heritage sites.
The Executive Director of the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority, BDR Tiwari, said the Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun, was entrusted the task of identifying heritage sites in Sohra and surrounding areas as the State alone cannot certify the important areas.
The landscape, waterfalls, tourism sites and heritage buildings will be examined by Wildlife Institute of India.
The folk stories behind the waterfalls, including the famed Nohkalikai falls, in Sohra will also be researched.
Another plan is to set up a geo park from Sohra to Dawki and other connected sites on the lines of the Western Ghats (from Goa to Maharashtra), Tiwari said and added that several places in the Western Ghats were declared as geo parks.
It may be mentioned that the UNESCO had declared the Western Ghats as world heritage site.
As far as the rain museum is concerned, the Meghalaya Basin Development Authority has taken up the initiative to collect rain data of several years.
While 50 acres of land has been identified for the rain museum at Kut Madan area in Sohra, the cost for the rain museum, which will include weather research centre, amusement park and audio-visual facilities, is Rs 50 crore. There is also a plan to link the rain museum with Mawsynram.
The concept of rain museum is being developed and designed by Creative Museum Designers, a part of the National Council of Science Museums, Kolkata, under the Ministry of Culture.
The Detailed Project Report is being prepared by Creative Museum Designers.
As per the concept note, the uniqueness of Cherrapunjee-Mawsynram area of Meghalaya is that the area is located well inland and experiences very heavy rainfall even in the absence of cyclonic disturbances unlike Hawaii islands in the Pacific Ocean and La-Reunion in the Indian Ocean. Both these places are islands amidst vast oceans where cyclonic disturbances cause heavy rainfall.
In fact, all events of record heavy rainfall at La Reunion have been associated with cyclonic storms. But there is a different pattern in Cherrapunjee-Mawsynram area.
The rain museum will provide a unique setting to understand the mechanism of very heavy rainfall processes in the absence of cyclonic disturbances. Hence this initiative will provide facilities to national and international research community to carry out research in the areas related to very heavy rainfall.
There is also a plan to establish a state-of-the-art Met Instrumentation Laboratory, and this will add value to the museum by attracting national and international scientists and students to observe and analyse the special nature of rainfall in Cherrapunjee-Mawsynram.

SHILLONG: Khyndailad, one of the buzzing areas in the city, drowns in darkness after sunset as the Rs 5.42-crore fountain and light has become non-functional.
The sequencing fountain and lights fitted on a 20-m pole was part of the beatification of the rotary at the cost of Rs 5.42 crore. It was inaugurated on May 5, 2005.
But it has been years since the light at Khyndailad functioned to its full capacity and only one light was functioning for quite some time.
Though small lights on the road divider in Police Bazar are functioning normally, the light at the junction has stopped working.
There were allegations that the beautification was done at a cost of Rs 3.09 crore and not Rs 5.42 crore as claimed by the government.
Shopkeepers in Police Bazar say it has been more than two weeks since the light stopped functioning and neither the Shillong Municipal Board nor MeECL seem to be interested in repairing it.
Residents recall that a decade ago the decorative lights in the fountain were seen adding beauty to the city centre but the glimmer has died away.
However, Khyndailad is not the only place in the city that is living in the dark. There are many areas in the city capital town which remain dark after sunset.
For instance, from Jhalupara till Anjalee petrol pump, there is one or two functional lights and the rest is dark.
Taking a tough stand on poor street lighting in the capital city and its surrounding areas, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the State Assembly in July this year had directed the CEO of the Shillong Municipal Board (SMB),
E Kharmalki and the CMD of MeECL, PS Thangkhiew, will hold a review meeting to find a solution to the problem.
In this regard the officials of the power department had assured the PAC that in the next 2-3 months there will be improvement in the delivery of proper street lighting to the people.
Attempts were made to contact officials of MeECL as well as the civic body to board their response but they could not be contacted.

SHILLONG: A minor girl was raped by her brother-in law at Diengpasoh on Friday.
The 8- year-old girl was dragged to the nearby jungle at Diengpasoh and was raped by the man identified as Love Singh Star Mukhim.
Mukhim had even threatened the minor saying if she informed anyone, he would hack her with an axe.
After the incident, the girl was crying and bleeding which alerted her mother.  When questioned, she narrated her ordeal following which a case under various sections involving rape was filed by the father of the victim.
On Saturday morning, the accused hailing from Jaroit village East Khasi Hills was arrested from Mawkhanu village by the police.
The Chairperson State Commission for Protection of Child Rights ( SCPCR) Meena Kharkongor  visited the victim.
Teen raped in city
In another incident, an 18-year-old girl was allegedly raped in the city.
Police said that the incident took place on Friday at 11AM when one Sunlight Jana (27), raped the girl at his residence at Mawlai Kynton Massar, Shillong. Police said that the accused has been arrested and the matter is being investigated.

Govt asked to roll out guidelines for sand lorries

SHILLONG: Sand-laden trucks plying on busy city roads with no proper cover have become a cause for concern. The trucks leave a trail of sand on the road that causes frequent two-wheeler accidents.
The sediments also get into the eyes of riders causing discomfort while on the move. “I was carrying my child to school in a scooty and the sand from a truck in front of us got into my son’s eyes,” said a concerned parent and pointed out that transportation of sand without proper covering is an environmental hazard.
According to people, there are many instances where two-wheelers skid because of the sand.
Many are also of the opinion that the Government should issue directions to trucks carrying sand to cover them while it is being transported.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner PS Dkhar said he would look into the matter and issue necessary directions.

SHILLONG: Commemo-rating the Vigilance Awareness Week, Punjab National Bank Rural Self Employment Training Institute (PNB RSETI), Mawphlang (EKH), organized an oath taking ceremony for people in the neighboring village of Mawphlang on October 31.
A debate competition was organized for the students of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya School on November 2 where corruption, which was the main topic, was actively   discussed by the students.
On Friday, an elocution  and poster competition was also conducted at Mawphlang Secondary School.
On the concluding day of the Vigilance Awareness Week which was held on Saturday, the institute organized a group discussion on ‘Ways to eradicate corruption’ at Shat Jingshai, Ancillae Secular Institute, Baniun.
During the programme, the Director of PNB-RSETI sensitised the participants on ‘Public participation in promoting integrity and eradicating corruption’ which was also the theme of the awareness week.