tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3323953779460457291.post1225628315208783543..comments2023-10-25T21:17:36.925+05:30Comments on Visions of Hell: Children of a lesser god ?SaveTheHillshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02683050982473682760noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3323953779460457291.post-34811340365961106722007-11-29T22:23:00.000+05:302007-11-29T22:23:00.000+05:30the comments made by darjeeling brew contrasting ...the comments made by darjeeling brew contrasting the two leaders brings home the point that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.<BR/> i mean you could not expect Chamling to not say all the things that he said, given the fact that he was invited over to speak in a town in which he has got no political liability. however closer at home , when more complex issues of development, environment and sanctity of sacred lands are in question ( read Dzongu) we know what stand he has taken. <BR/>of course lack of quality leadership has always been the bane of the hills. however given the nature of the body politic of India all solutions to our problems will have to come at a political level. pressure groups, civil society watchdogs such as this forum itself have a role to play but ultimately it all boils down to the will of the political leaders, their priorities etc. apart from the technical inputs made with regard to various aspects of urban planning, topography etc I personally feel that we can move forward if we can start asking the harder political questions such as: why does the municipality not work?? what is the correlation between civic body corruption and landslides?? how is relief budgeted? is somebody gaining out of all this?? why are criminal proceedings not initiated against corrupt civic authorities who have all along looked the other way when contractors and builders have had a free run over the townscape?? etc etcprabinkpghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04667426263661622944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3323953779460457291.post-47619565951163152912007-11-06T14:03:00.000+05:302007-11-06T14:03:00.000+05:30...and oh, yes, we must mull plans to manage this ......and oh, yes, we must mull plans to manage this disaster too.Niraj Lamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03565782887428174051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3323953779460457291.post-24067882255965089782007-11-06T13:16:00.000+05:302007-11-06T13:16:00.000+05:30No, we are not children of a lesser god, but of a ...No, we are not children of a lesser god, but of a lesser leader. The other day I attended a function in Darjeeling where the main speaker was Chamling. His speech was that of the earth, of human society, of aspirations and challenges that it faces. Ghisingh, the lesser one, talks of vacuous spaces, of nothings, of matters irrelevant to our lives. He is our biggest man-made disaster.Niraj Lamahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03565782887428174051noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3323953779460457291.post-87206540828960199232007-11-06T12:29:00.000+05:302007-11-06T12:29:00.000+05:30It is a move in the right direction. However, to ...It is a move in the right direction. However, to prevent such disastrous catastrophes in the future, it requires the relevant authorities to take immediate action following this visit and not just pay lip service or do paper exercise.<BR/><BR/>I would like to see more and more citizens of our hills to join Praful Rao bhai and anyone else involved in campaigning to save our hills because as far as I am aware, it seems that, at the moment, only Praful bhai is actively involved at grass roots level to raise awareness of this issue, he will need significant backing to have significant impact, both at home and away!Swaroophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14241833513144883446noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3323953779460457291.post-68032235418620124352007-11-06T10:17:00.000+05:302007-11-06T10:17:00.000+05:30One asks oneself "Are we reinventing the wheel?"It...One asks oneself "Are we reinventing the wheel?"<BR/><BR/>It is the kind of administrative set-up the Darjeeling Hills are reeling under all these years that one gets such Visions of Hell. The only logical thing to happen is ones political will to bring about a paradigm shift in ones world view regarding "dirty politics", try make it clean and SaveTheHills from inside out.<BR/><BR/>All strength to those trying to fashion "the wheel"!!!Bharat Mani Pradhanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01134857660557136063noreply@blogger.com