Anti-graft activists take midnight dip in cold water

Shillong, Jan 1 : At midnight, a group of anti-graft activists in Meghalaya pledged to fight against corruption by taking a dip in the icy-cold water with an aim to inculcate a fighting spirit, endurance and determination to end social frauds. While the rest of the country welcomed the New Year with
revelry in their own kinds, 24 brave men and children heralded the first hour of 2012 by taking a mid-night dip last night at the Crinoline swimming pool at sub-zero temperature.

Led by former influential student activist, and a convener of the Mait Shaphrang Movement (MSM), Michael Syiem, routinely undertaken the dip for the fifteenth year in a row.

"We take this dip to refresh ourselves about the fighting spirit that we should have in order to overcome all odds that we, as individuals and the society, are facing," Syiem said.

He said, "To take a dip at the icy-cold water is the most challenging thing an individual could do especially at midnight."

Braving the cold water, Syiem added another 40 blocks of ice to make the 'dip' more challenging this year, 20 more ice than last year.

Syiem, who as an anti-graft activist in the state, has unearthed many wrong doings of several coalition governments in Meghalaya.

"A dive into a pool under sub-zero temperature is a pointer that it is an odd that we have overcome during the first minutes of the new year, and we will overcome any odds in the 365 days to come."