TURA:
Large-scale disappointment prevails in the Garo Hills over the hasty decision of the state government to cancel the Me.gong festival at Jengjal, which was scheduled to take place from December 1 to 3.
Thousands of music lovers from across the Garo Hills were expecting to witness the show, a once-in-a-lifetime affair, that was to feature rock legends Michael Learns to Rock and Smokie lead vocalist Chris Norman perform for the very first time in the Garo Hills.
“I think the Conrad Sangma government jumped the gun too early. They should have waited it out. It showed poor leadership,” was the collective refrain of several people from Tura on the cancellation.
There were others who questioned the move of the government by saying, “Why was the need for cancellation of an event that is taking place in a different month and a different place?”
The government has been facing a backlash for not just the poor law and order situation but also the lack of leadership in reigning in the loose cannons, particularly troublemakers.
“This is clearly a case of a knee-jerk reaction from the government which shouldn’t have happened. The government has played into the hands of the troublemakers who took advantage of the tense situation in the aftermath of the firing incident at Mukroh,” feels a retired teacher.
Others were more blunt in their reaction to news of the cancellation.
“We had already complete booking for our rooms in our homestay for the Me.gong festival. Some have already paid in advance and now we have to refund it all. Worse, we will not be getting any revenue. It’s a total chaos,” says a lady homestay owner.
Estimates of loss by the tourism sector in Garo Hills over the cancellation of the festival is said to be in the crores, from event management to hotel losses, and even the hundreds of village food stalls, that would have made some revenue for the upcoming festive season of Christmas.
There is palpable anger amongst many, particularly the youth, who had anticipated a mega show to begin the Christmas festive season with Me.gong festival.
“We thought the government would have handled the situation well and ensure the issue was resolved. Sadly, they failed,” expressed many a youth in Tura who spoke to this scribe.
With elections round the corner, the government has been treading on a fine line in trying not to antagonise any group or region of the state, something it has failed so far.
MDA’S SELF GOAL
Extremely poor leadership and all the bulbs in the MDA chandelier have fused was how Tyrone D Brass, a well-known educationist from Garo Hills, summed up the situation.
“The incident at Mukroh has been hijacked by thugs in Shillong who are unable to see the real picture. Attacking the MLP and non-tribals in Shillong over the Mukroh incident will only lead to more unemployment and more poverty in the state,” he said.
Furthermore the poor law and order situation in Shillong will only keep tourists away from visiting Meghalaya, he said adding the MDA government has displayed impotency in dealing with anti-social elements who have agenda only to take the state backwards.
“There was no need to cancel the event here nor even in Shillong . The MDA government needs to be assertive in handling crisis of its own making instead of running off to Delhi to meet the Union Home Minister. The MHRC has already taken note of the trigger-happy Assam Police, so what was the urgency to rush to Delhi. It portrays a poor image of the MDA government in dealing with the repercussions of the unfortunate Mukroh killings”, he said.