The 5th Battalion of the Assam Rifles celebrated its 64th Anniversary on April 18 some were in the North Eastern Region.

The highlights of the celebrations were Puja in the Unit Mandir, special Sainik Sammelan, battalion welfare fete and cultural programme.

The unit received the massages of greeting and good wishes from the various Army formation commanders.

The battalion was raised on April 18, 1920 as the Darang Battalion. In 1922 the unit was employed to restore law and order in the plain areas of Assam and in 1924 columns were sent to contain Nople rebels to Madras and in 1930 to Chittagong (now in Bangladesh) to assist civil authorities in maintaining law and order. In 1959 Dalai Lama with the members of the family and followers entered into the Indian soil through one of the posts of the unit. They had unique honour of escorting His Holiness upto the plains of Assam.

During Sino-Indian Conflict of 1962, the battalions had the honour of occupying all the forward posts and were attacked the Chinese with over whelming superior strength. The personnel of the battalion fought with great valour, courage and devotion to the duty and though they were completely out-numbered on various out posts they held on and only withdrew on orders of the Army Commanders.

There are several instances when Meghalayans were called upon to represent the country in any international meet. But perhaps it is the only time that Meghalayans alone have had the unique distinction of representing a national team at a global congregation. This honour to our State has been brought by three young ladies of Shillong who are presently campaign in London for the international gathering of Girls Guide and Girls Scout being held from April 15 to 23. We congratulate Evamary Swer, Jessica Warjri and Josephine Marbaniang for this distinction.

The Directorate of Industries has suspended the industrial registration issued to a private industrial venture of Shillong following a complaint against it.

Sources said that the firm – Meghalaya Wire Products of Police Bazar – was registered by the District Industries Centre, Shillong on March 23 last, although it did not have any manufacturing unit locally.

On the directive from the Industries Minister, the Director of Industries, Mr N Nongbri, conducted a physical verification and found that the complaint was genuine, sources added. By a notification the Director has suspended the registration of the firm and has asked all heads of departments not to issue any orders with the firm under the Meghalaya Preferential Stores Purchase Rules.

The Meghalaya PHE Minister, Mr Salseng C Marak has said that the govt would not hesitate to take appropriate action against those involved in the multi-crore racket in the PHE Jowai Division.

He told the Shillong Times on May 4 that he would enlighten the cabinet some time next week about the actual affair. The Govt would await the report of the official enquiry committee set-up for going into the details of the scandal. “We shall have to do something” he said.

The Minister stated that since the Jowai division was left at the disposal of the Minister of State, Mr Nihon Kshih, he was not much in the know of things. “Nobody brought the matter to my attention until there was an Assembly question during the last session of the Assembly” he added. Sources said that towards the beginning of April the Chief Secretary, Mrs P P Trivedi in a confidential note to the PHE Minister had also drawn his attention to the “disquieting reports” from the Jowai Division.

Asked about the bunch of recommendatory chits sent by Ministers to the involved executive engineer, Mr Marak said “as politicians we have to do this sometimes.” He did not think it to be an unusual practice, but felt that it was not obligatory on the part of any officer to accommodate all such “letters of introduction.”

In another development, the Estimates Committee has constituted a sub-committee to review the working of the PHE Department. The sub-committee is headed by Mr Winston Syiemiong. The other members are: Mr Roster M Sangma, Mr B M Lanong and Mr B Choudhury. The body has already begun functioning from May 4.

The PHE Department has lately been reshuffled with the Chief Engineer, Mr P Arunachalam transferred and posted as Chairman, Pollution Board. Mr H R Nath has been appointed as Additional Chief Engineer who has been vested with all powers of the Chief Engineer. Besides, some district-level postings and transfers have also been effected to refurbish the image of the Department.

 The state Cabinet, which met here this week to take stock of the affairs relating to the scandal in the PHE Department’s Jowai Division, has decided to entrust the matter to the police and Anti-corruption Branch of the State.

The Cabinet also decided to suspend the concerned Executive Engineer.

In its first reaction to the press reports in this connection, the Govt in a press release has admitted that it was “already aware” of the “irregularities” in the purchase of materials by the Jowai Division. “A preliminary enquiry has already been conducted”, the press note said.

Following is the test of the press note:

“The attention of the Government has been drawn to news items appearing in a section of the press concerning irregularities in the purchase of materials by the Jowai Division of Public Health Engineering Department are already aware of this matter and a preliminary enquiry has already been conducted.

“Besides constituting a Committee for conducting a detailed enquiry into the transactions, it has been decided to entrust the matter to the Police & Anti-Corruption Branch of the State. Disciplinary action has already been initiated and orders have been issued placing the concerned official under suspension.”

According to reports, the office of the Executive Engineer for Jowai Division has fallen vacant following the refusal of any officer to accept the posting. It is learnt that the last Executive Engineer, Mr K War had to flee away to Shillong allegedly being unable to stand the pressure from the contractors for relasing the pending bills. It is estimated that payment involving over Rs five crore has been with held by the Govt after the matter was first reported.

The Sub Committee of the Assembly Estimates Committee has decided to make a physical verification of the Jowai Division of the PHE Department.

The first look

Mr Bhishma Narian Singh, were sworn in on April 16, became the fourth regular Governor of Meghalaya. At fifty, he is said to be the youngest ever Governor in the country. Meghalaya is a young State and it is quite appropriate that her Governor too should be young. Otherwise a routine affair, the swearing in ceremony had one distinctive feature; for the first time the proceedings were conducted by a lady – the Chief Secretary, Mrs P P Trivedi. Immediately after the oath-taking ceremony, she led the new Governor in a ceremonial procession from the Durbar Hall to the lush green carpet outside, where the Meghalaya Police Battalion gave him a ceremonial salute. Later Mr Singh circulated himself among the guests and dignitaries who were entertained to tea.

Dressed in impeccable white dhoti, off – white galabandh and Gandhi cap, the slim and tall Governor found sometime to meet the press. There were a volley of questions from the mediamen, most of which he replied off the record. He left an impression of a sincere and capable person. Notable among his earlier achievements have been his induction into the central cabinet in 1980 to become the youngest Union cabinet Minister ever. He deftly handled the Parliamentary Affairs portfolio. The Asaid stadia fly-overs and chain of hotels in Delhi bear silent testimony to this ability as the Works & Housing Minister. If first impression is to be taken seriously, then Meghalaya, Assam and for that matter, the whole of North-East, should look forward to a good time under the new Governor who enjoys the reputation of being able to make a point without making an enemy; he is basically a friendly and an outgoing person, and has immense reserve of energy to work. Well then, let us keep our fingers crossed.

Changing summer

Every summer when the sun blazes, everybody seems to complain “on, Shillong is like any other town in the plains.” Indeed, there is an element of truth in it. It is not uncommon to see specks of sweat on faces when sun is up. Some years back, deep fridge or refrigerators were considered to be a luxury. Not so any longer. Shillong’s whether necessitates a cold storage facility. Ice cream was not a particularly sought after item. But not these days. People seem to enjoy ice creams like never before. No wonder there are more ice cream vendors today than ever before. Mosquitoes and house flies were never so menacing as at present. Many housewives are compelled to use mosquito nets at night to ensure a goodnights sleep. Summer in Shillong is not all that pleasant these days.

Distinctive trio

There are several instances when Meghalaya were called upon to represent the country in any international meet. But perhaps it is the only time that Meghalayans alone have had the unique distinction of representing a national team at a global congregation. This honour to our State has been brought by three young ladies of Shillong who are presently camping in London for the international gathering of Girls Guide and Girls Scout being held from April 15 to 23. We congratulate Evamary Swer, Jessica Warjri and Josephine Marbaniang for this distinction.

The Speaker of the Meghalaya Assembly, Mr E K Mawlong, formally released on April 11 the publication entitled “Shillong 1971 – 81” based on the papers submitted at a seminar organized by the North-East India Council for Social Science Research, Shillong.

A reshuffling in the cabinet as well as in the secretariat is in the offing, according to informed sources here.

The Chief Minister, Captain W. A. Sangma, is reported to have been toying with the idea for quite sometime in view of some lackadaisical performances by some of the Ministers.

Sources close to the Chief Minister said that the reshuffle would take place “any day” after Captain Sangma returns from electioneering in Mizoram.

At the top level of the secretariat, some changes are also on the card in view of the impending posting of Mr V. Ramakrishnan, the Development Commissioner, to Delhi.

Speculations are also rife that even the State Chief Secretary, Mrs P P Trivedi is on her way out. Mrs Trivedi is said to have fallen from the eyes of some of the senior Ministers.

The enforcement branch of Shillong Police has begun a drive against combating the menace of overloading in city buses and mini buses. The operation is carried out at key points twice daily during rush hours.

A team of policemen make physical verification of the buses to ensure that the specified number of passengers are on board. In some cases excess passengers are asked to get down. In a few cases, the licences of the drivers were sized for violation of the rules.

According to the rules, city buses are allowed only ten standing passengers. The mini buses are, however, not allowed any standing passengers.

Police said that there had been public complaints of various inconveniences faced owing to overloading in city buses. Some cases of pick pocketing were also reported from the city bus commuters.

Although there has been a general welcome of the police vigilance against overloading, the commuters who are eager to reach their destinations quickly, find the exercised too frustrating. Some of them have expressed their ire for the lack of additional bus services during the rush hours. It has been generally felt that the Govt. should direct the bus syndicate to increase the frequency of bus services at least during the rush hours.

The premiere show of the first Khasi feature film in 35 mm was held here on April 18 before a packed auditorium. The movie – ‘‘Manik Raitong’’ – portrays the legendary Khasi flute charmer and his immortl story of love.

Directed by Mr A. Bhattacharjee, the movie has already made a big impact among the Khasis. A huge crowd of people are thronging everyday at the Anjalee theatre for a ticket. It is said that the tickets are sold at a premium as high as Rs. 50. The film is produced by Mr Rishan Rapsang.