I appreciate Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K. Sangma for travelling by chopper to save the time of the people and enabling him to be the most punctual Chief Minister unlike the previous Chief Ministers who reached any function after one or two hours of the scheduled time. Many of us might think that travelling by a helicopter, the Chief Minister has wasted the people’s money but no it is not like that if we take time into consideration. Time is more precious than money.
Time is universal and eternal. We all grow in time, live in time and ultimately perish in time. Time cannot be bound, stuck, stored or utilised at our own sweet will. The lost time cannot be made up. Time once gone cannot be brought back by any means. Most of us cannot realise this, we think we will make up the lost time, but in vain.
We should take good care of the time and make the best use of it. Time and opportunity once lost cannot be recovered. Time and tide wait for nobody. We used to say, ‘a stitch in time saves nine’, which means a work done in time is the time earned. All great men and women have utilised time in a very proper way. We should follow these great and successful men and women, the guiding stars of humanity.
Conrad Sangma is the best example regarding time consumption. What we could see is that on November 7, 2022, there were three functions at Mairang. One is at Khadsawphra College, one is at Science College and another is at St. Thomas Higher Secondary School. At Khadsawphra College he inaugurated the extension building and released four school buses at 10:45 AM. At Mairang Presbyterian Science College, he inaugurated the Computer Lab at 11:30 AM and at St. Thomas attended the closing ceremony of the Golden Jubilee Celebration at 12:30 PM.
The Chief Minister landed at KSA Playground which is the Heliseva of the Eastern West Khasi Hills District and reached 20 minutes before the time scheduled. This is because he travels by a chopper from Guwahati on his way from New Delhi. Because of punctuality, he could attend all the functions proposed, with full satisfaction which the people experienced. This is what we say ‘a stitch in time saves nine’. I am the one who always appreciates a man and a woman who could value the time.
Moreover, besides these three functions at Mairang which he attended, he could fly to Smit village at 2 PM to attend and participate in the closing day of Shad Nongkrem. He could attend four to five meetings in a day because of punctuality. Punctuality is the habit of doing things at the right time. The man who does not do so often fails. A punctual man is able to do more work than a man who lacks this habit. He gets a better advantage and can do his work very well. He also gets praises from all quarters.
Regarding the tour programme of the Chief Minister by helicopter, we should not have the cocoon mindset. We should always be optimistic and not be pessimistic in our thoughts. If the Chief Minister travels by chopper to reach his destinations, we should not simply grumble but have to evaluate which way benefits us. I have no doubt that the Chief Minister has properly calculated which option is most beneficial for the people whether punctuality or looting the time of the people.
Being the Chief Minister, it is not an easy task for him to cover all the places of Meghalaya satisfying the people’s needs and requirements. According to my calculation, if the Chief Minister is having three or four meetings on the same day, one meeting at the West, another at the East or at the Eastern West like our new district, then what will he do? Driven by his intrinsic value of being a punctual man, he must reach all the places in time. In this regard he has no other alternative but just to travel by a helicopter which is the fastest mode of transportation. Therefore, the chopper is a punctuality power for the Chief Minister.
