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| A mobile connection centre. Picture by Biju Boro |
New Delhi’s verdict that the Northeast is only fit for post-paid cellular service has done nothing to ease the tension in a troubled land.
The argument given is that the militants would take advantage of pre-paid service.
However, it is an established fact that rebels are not dependent on the government for their communication network, as they possess high-tech gizmos.
Why does the government not ban the pre-paid service in the metros, where the mafia is solely dependent on mobile phones for survival.
Prasanta Debnath,
Naharlagun,
Arunachal Pradesh
The clerical and medical staff as well as artisans employed in the tea plantations of Assam suffer a lot because of the poor pay here. The tea industry staff is worse paid than people employed in the other sectors. Assam produces more than half the total tea produced in India. However, the tea industry is yet to initiate measures to disburse salaries to its employees. The last agreement has already lapsed on March 31, 2003, for wage negotiation and on March 31 for travel allowance.
As the market prices of essential commodities are constantly soaring, the garden employees find it difficult to make both ends meet. The employees have not received pay according to the new scale, too, because the employers have not been able to sell the tea at sufficiently high rates. However, the employees have now become restless, as a lot of time has been wasted in bringing the employers’ association to the negotiation table.
I believe that the finalisation of the above wage negotiation and travelling allowances should not take as long as it did last time. We, therefore, request the general secretary, ACKS, to finalise the agreement as soon as possible.
Kanak Hazarika,
Orangajuli Tea Estate,
Panerihat
It has become the fashion for organisations and institutes to organise cultural programmes or to rope in theatre groups to perform for them to garner funds. The profit derived from such programmes is utilised for various activities. Even private educational institutions are not lagging behind in this respect. Unlike the missionaries, the private institutes organise such programmes only for profit.
Recently, I was approached by some people on behalf of one such institute. As my ward was once associated with that institute for a brief period I did not hesitate to help them. When I asked them how I could help, they explained that they were selling tickets of Rs 500 for a four-day entertainment programme and wanted me to purchase one to help their organisation. Though the amount was quite high for a middle-class salaried person like myself and I would not be able to attend the show for four consecutive days, I still purchased a ticket.
To my surprise I discovered the next day that I had been made a fool. I learnt that the association also had tickets for Rs 300 and Rs 100 but the people who had come to me had intentionally not mentioned them so that I bought a Rs 500 ticket.
The organisation I am referring to is a private one involved in educational activities. On top of that, the head of the institution herself came to sell the tickets. In fact, it was she who told me that they were selling tickets worth Rs 500 each.
My fault was that I trusted her and did not bargain with her as one usually does with a shopkeeper. It is not the money I regret but the deception involved.
I shudder to think what the students learn from an institute where the head herself conceals facts and breaks trust.
I want this letter to serve as an eye-opener for people like me.
Prateep Sengupta,
Digboi
Much has been said about the development of tourism in Meghalaya over the past few years.
Tourism minister T. C. Lyngdoh has stated after his return from Europe that the tourism industry in the state would be upgraded by a professional management group, which would spell out programmes to be taken up in the future. I appreciate the move initiated by the minister to promote tourism in a big way, taking into consideration its immense potential.
However, successive tourism ministers before him have said the same thing every time they returned from their foreign jaunts. Sadly enough, no tangible scheme worth the name has been undertaken so far to attract tourists, both domestic and foreign.
The infrastructure set up under the tourism sector in the state is still inadequate.
The existing tourist lodges, wayside restaurants and trade centres, run by the tourism department, need to be revamped with quality service and facilities.
The basic amenities like transport service, communication facilities like telephone link, fax machine and television connection are yet to be provided in most of the tourist centres.
One such instance can be cited from the functioning of the Orchid Lodge in Tura where the telephone line has been cut off and is lying as a decoration for the past three years, causing much embarrassment to the staff.
Every year, lots of visitors, including VIPs, stay in this lodge and have to return with bitter memories. Similarly, a wayside restaurant along the national highway at Anogre has become a non-starter and is ridiculed by the people as a ghost restaurant.
These are small things which the concerned authorities need to address before taking a giant leap by launching over-ambitious schemes.
One should bear in mind that congenial atmosphere is a must to improve the flow of visitors to our beautiful land.
Rozario M. Sangma,
Hawakhana, Tura
The minimum fare in deluxe city buses plying within Greater Guwahati was recently increased from Rs 3 to Rs 5 with the transport minister promising limited stops.
He also assured the people that passengers beyond the seating capacity of the bus would not allowed to board the bus.
However, in blatant violation of these norms, the deluxe buses stop just about anywhere on the roads. I hope our transport minister will take note of this thing.
S.K. Talukdar,
Beltola College Road,
Guwahati
