In two highway robberies in East Khasi Hills this week two truck drivers were robbed of their valueables.

In one incident near Sumer, five persons waylaid a truck driver and dispossed him of his cash. The robbers escaped in a jeep. The driver reported the matter to Barapani Beat House and the police arrested all the five men and recovered the cash intact.

In another incident, four persons stopped a vehicle at Khanapara and took away two wrist watches and Rs.500 from its driver. The Police was successful in nabbing the culprits and recovered the looted materials.

On the rainy evening of July 22, a taxi (MLS 7482) rammed into the car of the Editor of this weekly near the State Bank Regional Office at Dhankheti, and left the vehicle completely battered. The Editor who was t the wheel, had a providential escape suffering only fractures of the teeth and some bleeding injuries.

The accident occurred at 7:30 P.M. when the taxi, approaching from opposite direction, suddenly swerved and his the car near the driving seat. There was no other vehicle on the road at that time.

The cabinet left the taxi on the middle of the road and disappeared from the scene. Police promptly arrived at the spot and towed the involved vehicles to the Police Station.

Curiously, till the time of sending these lines to the Press, neither the driver surrendered before the police nor anyone came to claim ownership of the taxi.

Police said that according to records available with them the owner is a resident of Nongspung in West Khasi Hills. Police have so far not sent any intimation to him hoping that he would appear on his own.

Meanwhile, it is reported that the taxi is being operated by an employee of the Public Health Engineering Department as a “benami trade”. There is, however, no confirmation of the report.

Incredible though it may sound, Cherrapunjee – – the wettest spot on earth – grapples with acute water shortage, when it does not rain.

With 10,000 mm annual rainfall its credit, Cherrapunjee is unable to supply adequate drinking water to its 20,000 residents almost half of the year.

According to Mr P K Roy, A Geologist of GSI, Shillong, both Man and Nature have contributed to this plight.

Mr Guha Roy, who carried out a recent study on the problem, concludes that the persons in the helm have not done enough to mitigate the sufferance of the people. On the other hand the unavourable geo physical conditions obtaining in the area do not hold out any promise of ground water reserves.

The residents of Cherrapunjee, during the dry season, are compelled to do laundry and bathe in the thin trickles of the nearby streams. It is a common sight that men and women trek down a good distance for obtaining some water.

Cherrapunjee, with a population of about 20,000 has been divided into Upper , Middle and Lower Cherra for water supply arrangement. Three separate water works cater to three sectors of the town. The Upper and Middle Cherra water supply systems are based on two spring about 4 km north of Cherrapunjee. Water is conveyed from the intakes by two 75 km pipe lines to storage tanks from where water is fed into the distribution network at fixed times. Tapping a spring in Lower Cherra Water Works directly feeds spring water into the distribution network through a trunk pipe line, 20,000 mm long and 50 mm in diameter.

All the three systems operate on gravity and no pumping is involved.

Public Health Engineering Deptt is responsible for operating the Upper Cherra Water Supply, whereas the Middle Cherra Village Committee and local PWD office operate the Middle Lower Cherra Water Supply systems respectively. No written record is available with these organizations about production, distribution and technical details of the water supply schemes and some information’s were obtained by Mr Guha Roy by interviewing the concerned persons.

The spring supplying water have very poor discharge during the dry season and the total daily yield a “guesstimate.” Made by Mr Guha Roy was of the order of 6,00,000 liters in February, 1984. The present demand estimated at 2 million liters per day on the basis of WHO norm, renders the daily shortfall in the order of 1.4 million liters, which is about 70% of the current demand. People supplement their water requirement by bathing and washing in the streams which are but mere trickles during the dry months.

The Shiliong Bar Association has decided to, boycott the courts under the Disrtict Magistrate of East Khasi Hills for two days as a mark of their protest against the shifting of the DC’s court to Laitumkhrah.

Disclosing this to newsmen here on July 12, the President of the Association, Mr. L. Marbaniang criticised the decision to shift the court to a location situated some seven kms from the Bar Library. The decision, he said, would adversely effect the lawyers as well as the litigants. “Nowhere courts located in such a widely scattered manner”, he asserted.

Mr Marbaniang explained that under the new dispensation the lawyers would have to keep on shuttling between Laitumkhrah and the Kachhari area since five important courts – including the District Sessions Judge, CJM’s court, Munsiff’s court etc. were retained in existing premises. This was not only an expensive proposition but also an impractical one, he said,

The Executive Magistrates, who are normally occupied with the executive works, were hardpressed for time. More usually than not cases were deferred because of their other pre-occupations.It would be highly frustrating for all concerned to having gone all the distance not to find the Magistrate in the court, he said.

Mr Marbaniang explained since the “Malkhana” was also removed to the new premises, it would be difficult for the prosecution to bring all the way the “exhibits” seized by the police in criminal cases, for presenting before the courts.

Moreover, he informed, the various stationery, including Vakalatnama, bail bonds etc., were all stored at the Bar Library. It would imply that should a lawyer move a bail petition in the Executive Magistrate’s court, he would have to run between Laitumkhrah and Kachhari for four times. Further, the Bar Association’s Library, which was located in the existing place,would not be available for ready reference by the lawyers, he said.

Asked if they had apprised the DC of these aspects, Mr Marbaniang said that the lawyers met him once but he was “determined” to shift on the plea that he would like to have all his offices under one roof,

The Association, which adopted formal resolution opposing the decision, forwarded copies of it to the Chief Minister, Law Minister, Horne Minister and the Chief Secretary. The Law Minister had since Issued an “order” to the DC on July 4. The nature of the order was not known to them, he added.

Mr Marbaniang said a delegation of the Association would soon await upon the Law Minister for seeking his personal intervention.

The Association is of the firm belief that the Executive Courts can be accommodated in the buildings around Kachhari area if proper efforts are made.

The Union Home Ministry in consultatian with the Comptroller and the Auditor General of India, has announced that the procedure for automatic transfer of family pension on the demise of a freedom fighter has been further simplified with immediate effect,

An official press note issued recently said it has been decided that a freedom fighter can make a simple declaration about his spouse and unmarried, unemployed daugnters and get his Pensions Payment Order ammended from the Accountant General concerned to enable the pension disbursing officer to commence payment of dependant pension to the spouse on receipt of a intimation of demise of the freedom fighter.

With the Parliamentary elections round the corner. The APHLC and the HSPDP have decided to renew their efforts for forging unity of the two parties.

The Central Working committee meeting of the APHLC has been convened for the purpose to be held on July 27 and 28. The CWC meeting of the HSPDP is reported to be scheduled for August 2 & 3. The two parties, which have been trying to create a common platform without sinking their respective identities, have been drifting on the issue for more than a year. Protracted meeting and deliberations have so far failed to crystallize the issue. Consequently their has been bickering in the middle-levels of the two parties. Asked whether there was any reason to feel optimistic about a positive outcome, a spokesman of the APHLC said ‘which ever way it may go, we want to decide things once for all.”

Observers say that the biggest hurdle to the unity is the disunity of hearts among the top-notch leaders of the two parties. Time and again the leaders have only provide their critics correct that they donot want unity at the heart of their hearts. The reopening of the so-called unity move is purely an arrangement for facing the ensuing parliamentary polls, observers say.

The poor performance of the students of the North-Eastern Region, particularly those belonging to the scheduled tribes from Hill areas, figured in the discussion of the Development Commissioner’s meeting held here on July 17.

Some representatives mentioned how their nominees could not avail of seats in different Agricultural Universities as most of them secured lower marks than the minimum prescribed for admission by those Institutions. The Development Commissioner of Assam, Mr H. N. Das, mentioned about the poor performance of the students in the admission tests of the I.I.T. as revealed from the fact that only a couple of candidates from North-Eastern could qualify this year, although things were quite better even two decades ago.

The Government of Meghalaya has appointed Intercon Maritime Consultants to prepare a project report to identify Water sports facilities such as sailing, water skiing, boating, etc. and the shore infrastructure like restaurants, amusement parks etc. at the Barapani lake.

The first step of the study by the Consultants will be a market survey of what the people of Meghalaya would like to have at Umiam (Barapani).

Questionnaires will be distributed to schools, colleges, Government officials, police, army, air force and and others to obtain their views. Students, both boys and girls, will assist the team to obtain the reactions and desires of the residents of Shillong.

The team of Consultants, led by Project Officer, Admiral Batra, a keen angler and wild life expert, includes a sailing expert, civil engineer, market survey leader and a leading landscaping and environment adviser. The team, with a group of volunteers would call on various departments especially by schools and colleges. Students have been requested to co-operate by giving their views as per the questionnaire.

The Union Home Ministry in consultatian with the Comptroller and the Auditor General of India, has announced that the procedure for automatic transfer of family pension on the demise of a freedom fighter has been further simplified with immediate effect.

An official press note issued recently said it has been decided that a freedom fighter can make a simple declaration about his spouse and unmarried, unemployed daugnters and get his Pensions Payment Order ammended from the Accountant General concerned to enable the pension disbursing officer to commence payment of dependant pension to the spouse on receipt of a intimation of demise of the freedom fighter.

The press note further adds that freedom fighters receiving Swatantrata. Sainik Samman Pensiou from the Centtral Government have benn requested to avail of this facility of the simplified procedure, so that there is no difficulty in the matter and payment of dependent family Pension can be commenced without delay.

In two highway robberies in East Khasi Hills this week two truck drivers were robbed of their valueables.

In one incident near Sumer, five persons waylaid a truck driver and dispossed him of his cash. The robbers escaped in a jeep. The driver reported the matter to Barapani Beat House and the police arrested all the five men and recovered the cash intact.

In another incident, four persons stopped a vehicle at Khanapara and took away two wrist watches and Rs.500 from its driver. The Police was successful in nabbing the culprits and recovered the looted materials.

The various Sub Groups constituted by the main Working Group for formulation of the strategy for Draft Seventh Plan for North East have begun discussion.

The deliberations held so far have revolved around various aspects on the problems and potentials of the Region and strategies and approach to formulates appropriate schemes for inclusion in the draft Seventh Plan.

It may be mentioned that the main Working Group in its first meeting held under the Chairmanship of Mr P H Trivedi Secretary of the NEC constituted one model group to study the various reports and materials regarding North-East and drawn inference, frame approach, the strategy, priorities and objectives of development. The Working Group on Agriculture Allied Sector, Transport and Power and other infrastructures, Industries and Minerals including Handlooms and Sericulture and Social Services. The first meeting of the Sub-Group on Social Services recently held at the NEC Secretariat discussed the present status of social services like education, health, drinking water supply, maternity and child welfare, family planning and other infrastructure like Manpower Development.

A background paper prepared in the NEC Secretariat formed the basis of discussion of the meeting of the Sub-Group. The Sub-Group recommended improvement of the teaching method to tackle the problems of drop-out and poor standard of science and mathematics, improvement of vocational training, modernization of technical education, promotion of self-employment and Crafts Training Centres for scheduled castes and scheduled tribe candidates. The Sub-Group suggested that greater reliance should be placed on the establishment of Health Centres, Sub-Centres and deployment of para-medical staff, to improve medical and health services. The existing Training arrangements should also be improved to remove the shortage of Doctors, Nu8rses and Pharmacists. In view of high child mortality in this region, the Sub-Group suggested greater efforts for maternity and child care particularly with emphasis on immunization measures Setting up of one Regional Drug Control Laboratory and involvement of local leadership for family welfare programme were also suggested by the Sub-Group.

Taking up of specific scheme for fighting malnutrition providing employment to the physically handicapped were also suggested by the Sub-Group. Utilization of TV facilities for extension of mass education and also for promotion of national integration development of sports and culture activities, greater utilization of the renewable resources of energy formed some part of the recommendation of the Sub-Group. Discussing the problem of jhum cultivation in the region, the Sub-Group suggested positive measure for a forestation and prevention of drying up of sources water. It also suggested that substantial increase in the financial provision for water supply and recommended that big irrigation projects should also include water supply as an additional activity. It also suggested that problem villages should be provided with drinking water while non-conventional sources of energy should be utilized for rural water supply. In the plains and valleys at least one tubewell should be constructed for every 250 persons, the Sub-Group added.