Here and there

Have you ever taken a drive from Shilllong to Jowai or from Jowai to Dawki, on the border with Bangladesh? It's really enjoyable. The road is smooth, well made and the view is really worth raving about. The road kindof winds through the hill slopes which are dotted with pines and other mountain vegetation. The hills in Meghalaya are not very steep and abrupt like they are in say Sikkim, Shimla, or even Nagaland and Manipur. You can literally smell the pine trees and see the hill tops rolling away as far as the eye can see. Because the road is so smooth, you have the luxury of taking in the spectacular view as you drive along. During the summer, you can also see the fruit trees laden with pears, peaches or plums.
Having stayed here in Meghalaya for the past 6 odd years, I really can't help comparing it with Manipur, my beloved homeland. Meghalaya has really changed over the years and I am not referring only to Shillong or the roads. It's everything. Somehow things seem more transparent and clear here as opposed to Manipur where everything is shrouded in a cloud of dust.
It's not that corruption doesn't exist here. I think it does... as it does everywhere. However, it's not that apparent.... and the rich and powerful don't seem to flex their muscles as much as they do in my beloved homeland.... or at least they seem to respect the law. The elected representatives here also seem more sincere, educated and concerned about the common man.
You can judge the efficiency of a society or government by the way civic services are maintained. Take traffic for instance. Shillong has a very high vehicle density and so there's a lot of traffic congestion, esp. during the rush hours but I have always found the management of traffic to be very efficient. Overtaking is not permitted and I have seldom seen road rage like I have in other cities.
The bypass connecting Umiam on the Guwahati-Shillong highway and Mawrynkneng on the Shillong-Jowai highway has been completed and now the congestion in Shillong city because of all those trucks and interstate buses will ease considerably. My point is that the authorities here seem to be able to identify the problems being faced by the people and take rectifying steps to solve those problems.
Or take electricity. Forget the urban areas, even in this backwater village that I stay in, there are absolutely little or no scheduled/ unscheduled load sheddings if you discount those caused by accident or acts of God. Just yesterday, there was a power cut because the strong winds that we have been having for the past few days apparently snapped a wire somewhere but it was repaired within a few hours and lights came back on. This year, in January, the transformer supplying power to my locality, Nagamapal right at the heart of Imphal broke down. Guess what, it took two and a half months before lights came back on. That's my beloved Manipur for you.
I have been visiting home sporadically over the years and I have not really seen any positive changes there. I mean, yes, they have built this enormous complex at thangmeiband presumably to house the State Assembly and the other important organs of governance. They must have their reasons of course for spending hundreds of crores on such a project ... which I don't presume to know. However, what about the woes being faced by the common people. What about the electricity problem being faced by the people... who hardly get 3 or 4 hours of power in a day. What about the roads which are not fit to be called roads? What about the very high unemployment rate? What about the rampant corruption... I mean you cannot get any government service without paying the mandatory 'cha thug na ba paisa'.
I wonder.... what is wrong with us? Why can't we wake up from our deep slumber and smell the coffee? Why does everyone seem to be complacent with the status quo?
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