Meghalaya Assembly Speaker wants approval of new dome design expedited

Staff Reporter

Shillong, March 13: Assembly Speaker Thomas A Sangma has asked the Public Works Department (Building) to speed up getting the approval of the new design for the dome of the new Assembly building at Mawdiangdiang.

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“I have already instructed and requested the PWD (Building) to expedite approval of the new design without which the work cannot start,” Sangma told reporters after conducting an inspection to the construction site today.

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Stating that the progress of work is satisfactory, the Speaker however said, “The middle portion which is the main chamber –where the dome had collapsed – that part is still not started, otherwise the left wing and the right wing (of the new Assembly building) are almost completed.”

“80 percent of the works are already completed but we can’t have an Assembly without the main chamber. There is a new design of the dome which has to be vetted and approved by two Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) – IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati. So we are waiting for their approval of the new design,” he said.

Sangma also informed that he is also in the process of reconstituting the High Powered Committee (HPC).

The dome of the under-construction new building of the Meghalaya Legislative Assembly had collapsed on May 22, last year.

When asked, the Speaker said the implementing agencies have been asked to remove debris (caused by the dome collapsed) by April 15.

“That was the only deadline we have set today because without which the work cannot start and without the approval of the new design work cannot start. Only when the work starts then we can set a timeline (for completion of the new Assembly building),” he added.

On the allegations of corruption in the construction of the new Assembly, the Speaker said, “Such allegations of corruption have not come to his notice. If there is any I can assure you that my office will be very transparent in this regard and we will try our best not to have any kind of allegation…we will try to be transparent as much as possible.”

He assured by saying, “I would look into this but just based on somebody (allegation) or without any written complaint or without any proof or evidence, I cannot just go about kind of taking unnecessary things out in the open. I will certainly look into it but as I told you earlier it has not come to my notice yet but if it comes if I feel that there is some kind of misconduct or something unusual I will certainly look into it.”

Admitting that the Assembly has been functioning from a temporary building for several years, the Speaker said that he would like to see the new building of the Assembly completed during his time.

“I feel that I should be able to step into that new Assembly during my time. I don’t know there are so many things. This is the only first phase. There will be a second phase which will include the staff quarters, the minister’s quarters, speaker’s residential quarter, MLA hostels, hospital, school,” he said while informing that they have decided to push the government to also start the second phase simultaneously side by side.

Stories of a Shillong boy Part 1: Hill Boy and the Desert

There is a little 10 year old boy in Shillong who has a funny way of looking at things. I call him “Ray” – A named derived from his Khasi first name. I am his mother and this is one of the many stories I have about him.

Now Ray had an intense hate for two subjects in school – science and geography. I’m still drawing nonsensical circles around science, but I think I’ve cracked geography and a geography lesson is one of the most fun things we do together now. I want to talk about a lesson we did a little while ago.

In this lesson, we read about the Thar Desert. The book said something really scary to Ray. It told him that the desert is expanding because we cut down forests and let our cattle eat away all our grasslands. This really worried him. Before we could go on with the lesson, he said, “But I don’t want the desert to reach the Meghalaya.”

I looked at him and said, “It won’t.”

“But the book says that it will.” He insists. “I don’t want to live in a desert.”

I had to think for a bit. See Ray has this way of getting fixated on something and then he dwells on it – a reason why I tutor him myself by redoing every chapter that his teachers have taught in school. His head is full of questions that he would never ask in a classroom kind of space, but he would demand an answer out of me.

“It will not happen tomorrow Ray.” I said, “We’ll all be dead and gone by then. There is no need to stress.”

This did not put him at ease at all. He was worried. “I don’t want to live in India anymore if the desert is growing mei. We have to leave India.”

“There are deserts everywhere.” I said.

“This can happen all over the world?” he asked sounding completely helpless.

“Yes.” I said thinking of Mad Max Fury Road. “But it won’t happen anytime soon. It will probably happen during the time of your great great great great grandchild so you have nothing to worry about.”

This calmed him down for a little while and I was able to finish the lesson. He had his dinner after that, brushed his teeth and got into bed.

As I was tucking him in he said softly, “But I want my great great great great grand son or daughter to live also.”

And it suddenly struck me that even I want my great great great great great grandchild to live.

(This piece has been written by Dalariti Nongpiur with illustrations by Hazel Kharkongor)