Plastic menace

Wanted: Moral police

Recently, Shillong municipal board chief W.L. Lyngdoh issued a warning against the use of plastic bags. Considering the harmful effects of these non-biodegradable bags on the environment, it is the responsibility of every citizen to cooperate with the government to do away with their use.

While we show concern for endangered species in the animal kingdom for maintaining ecological balance, we fail to acknowledge that our human qualities are equally endangered by reckless indulgence in bad habits.

With our blind attachment to materialism, we are becoming more inhuman, self-centred and intolerant. Should the government not adopt a series of value-based measures that encourage us to clean the environment of our venal mind as well? When will we realise that proper disposal of garbage from our mind is as important as the act of ridding ourselves of plastic bags to save our external environment?

Salil Gewali,
Shillong

Cooking up a storm

LPG suppliers of Guwahati downed shutters for three consecutive days (on September 1, 2 and 3) to mourn the demise of one of their colleagues.

My heartfelt sympathies are with the bereaved family. But keeping in mind the necessity of cooking gas, the LPG suppliers cannot justify their prolonged closure. Moreover, the suppliers also resort to shutting shop during every bandh called by various social and political organisation. The consumers are compelled to buy LPG cylinders from the black market by coughing up extra bucks.

R.K. Choudhury,
Guwahati

Loadshedding woes

Powercuts have become a regular feature in Assam. But the State Electricity Board cares little for the sufferings of the consumers. The employees of the department do not seem to be bothered about the protests of consumers and invariably attribute the powercuts to technical faults.

Children, particularly students, suffer when there is no power in the evenings. But at the end of the month when the bill comes, one has to pay a hefty amount. One is left wondering on what basis are the calculations made as the meter-readers seldom pay a visit to our houses.

Will the department as well as the state government do the needful to redress the difficulties faced by the consumers?

Ambika Thakur,
Dergaon

ST status plea for Meiteis

The controversy over Scheduled Tribe status is one of the problems plaguing Manipur.

Despite being a tribe, the Hindu Meiteis, who comprise 46 per cent of the state’s population, have not been granted ST status, unlike the Christian Nagas, who constitute 35 per cent of the state’s population.

The ST status gives the Nagas access to government jobs, while the Meiteis lag behind. Moreover, the population of the Nagas is increasing at a rate of 64.41 per cent, the highest in the country. They are gaining rapid ingress in all the states of the Northeast, especially in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. This has given rise to the demand for Greater Nagalim, to be carved out of these states.

One of the solutions to the problems is granting ST status to the Meiteis. There is general resentment among the Meiteis who feel that the government is apathetic towards them and favourable towards the Nagas.

Besides, Hindus in Christian-dominated areas of the Northeast should be given the status of minorities. The Hindus comprise seven per cent of the population in Nagaland, eight per cent in Mizoram and 14 per cent in Meghalaya. The Hindus in Manipur are dominated by Christian Nagas and Mizos.

Ranjit Singh,
Imphal